In the early morning of August 30th, Beijing time, in the third round of La Liga , Atletico Madrid played against Valencia away from home. Griezmann scored the only goal of the game and led the team to their second win of the season. At present, Atletico Madrid ranks 7th in the standings with a record of 2 wins and 1 loss, 23 points behind Real Madrid at the top of the list.
Seeing that he was unable to score, Simeone replaced Lemar and Griezmann in the 64th minute of the game, and removed De Paul and Kondogbia.
The effect of this substitution was immediate. In the 66th minute, Lemar stole the ball in the frontcourt and distributed the ball. Griezmann shot with his left foot from outside the penalty area. The ball hit the opponent's defender and refracted into the net. The ball went into the near corner. With this slightly lucky goal, Atletico Madrid scored 3 points without any danger.
Griezmann is Bartomeu's big deal. In the summer of 2019, Barcelona hired him to Camp Nou. The transfer fee was as high as 120 million euros, which is second only to Coutinho and Coutinho. Dembélé 's super signings were in the limelight for a while. However, Griezmann did not get along with Messi and Suarez . He made many mistakes and often became a scapegoat. Last year, he was rented back to Atletico Madrid for a fee of 10 million euros.
It is worth mentioning that Griezmann's loan contract has a mandatory buyout clause. As long as the effective number of appearances exceeds 50% (more than 45 minutes per game), Atletico Madrid will pay Barcelona 40 million euros.
Griezmann played 36 times in all competitions last season, 27 of which were starts, and contributed 8 goals and 6 assists. His efficiency was not outstanding. If they continue to be the main force this season, Atletico Madrid will inevitably spend 40 million euros to activate Griezmann's buyout clause.
Considering that Griezmann is about to turn 32 and his condition and physical fitness are declining, it is not cost-effective to spend 40 million euros on him. And Atletico Madrid also had Morata and Felix on the front line, so Simeone kept doing nothing and simply asked Griezmann as a substitute. After three games in the new season, Griezmann averaged only 27 minutes per game, all of which failed to meet the standard of effective games.
Griezmann, who came off the bench, was significantly more effective. He contributed 2 goals in 3 league rounds, accounting for half of the team's goals. It can be said to be the best of both worlds.
Griezmann's contract with Barcelona will not expire until the summer of 2024. If Atletico Madrid chooses to return the contract at the end of this season, Barcelona will have to support Griezmann for another year. Considering that Griezmann's annual pre-tax salary is as high as 34 million euros, it is undoubtedly worse for Barcelona, which is already in financial difficulties.
