La Liga
Griezmann At Barcelona: The Pros and Cons
As most football fans will know, Antoine Griezmann announced a few days ago that he will be leaving Atlético de Madrid at the end of the season. And understandably after the video surfaced, the rumors started flying around. The biggest of them was once again about Griezmann to Barcelona. After the infamous transfer saga last summer, the Frenchman is once again heavily linked with the Catalans. As things stand, Griezmann looks all but poised to finally join Barça in the summer. However, there a lot of divided opinions among the Barcelona fans about the striker. Let us take a look at the pros and cons of his signing and what it could mean for the player and club.
The Cons
First, lets look at the negatives of the signing.
Age
Griezmann is 28-years-old. Although he may be at his peak right now, Barcelona will undoubtedly have to start looking for another replacement in about four years time. With Griezmann they will not be securing their long term future.
Price
Griezmann is a huge name in the world of football. His current release clause is 125 million Euros which Barça can pay but will make a huge dent in their finances. Even though they may possibly enter a bidding war, a player of his stature won’t go for less than 90 million Euros in today’s market. Barcelona may even have to offload a few players to fund the signing and keep the roster under the specified limit of players.
FFP
In an age of heavy spending Barça will have to be wary of Financial Fair Play regulations. They already have a squad with plenty of huge names. They have spent a lot to bring in Phillippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele. What’s more important is the huge wage bill. With so many big names on the teamsheet, Barça will need to make a few bold changes.
Morale due to ‘The Decision’
Several reports have surfaced recently that the Barça players have snubbed the transfer of Griezmann. While these are most likely false, there might be some substance to the premise. According to the reports, the dressing room was ready to welcome him last season but were left hanging by his announcement of staying at Atlético de Madrid via the documentary. There is of course no proof of this but it may well have agitated the players.
The Pros
Let us now look at all the positives of Griezmann joining the Blaugrana.
Prime of His Career
While his age in the long term serves as one of the cons, there is no denying that Griezmann is in the prime of his career. Barcelona signed Luis Suarez when he was 27 and he turned out to be explosive while in his prime.
Experience At the Top Level
Not only is Griezmann a top quality player, but he also has experience at the highest stages of football. He has played in Champions League finals and he is well accustomed to La Liga already. Not to forget he was instrumental in France’s 2018 World Cup win. He can deal well with pressure and he was the star man at Atlético de Madrid.
Not a Traditional #9
Barça have had many top class strikers over the years. One thing they all had in common was their ability to create alongside scoring. Griezmann is also very capable of pulling strings and he is a clinical finisher as well.
Suarez Replacement and Guaranteed Starter
Being the big name that he is, Griezmann will certainly be an immediate starter for Barcelona. Suarez has undoubtedly been on a decline and is nowhere close to his old self. He has also underwent knee surgery and there will be doubts over his fitness.
Additionally, if Barça were to sign a young striker or promote one from the youth system, there is no guarantee he would start over Suarez or complement him. With Griezmann, we know that he is a big enough name to either play over at the very least with Suarez.
Terrific Numbers
Griezmann has been consistently performing well for Atlético. This season in La Liga alone, he was directly involved in 41% of their goals. He has 15 goals and 8 assists in 37 La Liga appearances. Playing alongside the likes of Messi and Co. we can only imagine those numbers will be bumped up.
What will happen remains to be seen. The transfer window opens on the first of July for La Liga clubs. It looks imminent but the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City were also in the running to sign the Frenchman. All this is heavy speculation but the Spanish champions seem to be in pole position to snap up his services.
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Written by Aaryan Parasnis
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Photo credit to Chintya Putri via Flickr
