Griezmann is already an official substitute at Barça. Almost humiliated substitute. “Taking him away with so little is hard for a player of his level. Tomorrow (this Wednesday) I will talk to him. I will not apologize, but I fully understand that he may feel bad,” Setien said after the game against Atlético de Madrid. It is possible that his role will change in Villarreal, where he should be a starter except surprise. But Griezmann's situation has moved to the third screen. From the debate about his fit in Barça, he has gone to that of the substitute and from this, to that of his future. It is difficult to think that a player in the French hierarchy can endure this situation much longer. “Griezmann? Without words,” said Simeone at the end of the Camp Noy match, frightened by the stage in which the world champion, his former player, moves.
Griezmann's new and difficult role embodies an idea that has been around Bartomeu's head on occasion during these months. Raise a swap to PSG that would include the Little Prince, Dembélé and Umtiti to try to force the return of Neymar, with whom an arrangement was reached for the conditions of his return last year at the Arts hotel in Barcelona. It is difficult for the emir of Qatar to accept any proposal that has to do with Neymar's departure, but there is little doubt that this summer, again, Bartomeu will do his best to have the photo of the return of the Brazilian, whose goodbye he left very touched and without joy to the club. Possibly until today.
Griezmann was Bartomeu's wild card after the Liverpool disaster. “C'est magnifique”, the club presented on its social networks to French after facing the payment of its termination clause, of 120 million euros. The signing of Griezmann, however, has not been successful. His numbers and his work have been his defense for months, but so far he has run out of arguments. Among other things, because it does not play.
With a contract until 2024 and a termination clause of 800 million euros, Bartomeu is not satisfied with the Frenchman's performance. His idea, however, was for the footballer to stay the next season. The facts, however, are making the matter problematic. Griezmann does not play with Setien, but the problem is deeper: his fit in the team. Griezmann's ideal position is that of Messi. And that is untouchable. Barça thought that the passage of months would naturally place Griezmann on the pitch, that the Frenchman would find his place. But that has not happened. The possibility of looking for a way out for Griezmann begins to be nonsensical. Make it a bargaining chip for Neymar's return, a possibility. For that, too many people would have to agree, but what is unquestionable is that the Griezmann case is intensifying.