Barcelona 'preparing lawsuit against Atletico Madrid over Griezmann after they find loophole around £35m transfer'

BARCELONA are preparing a lawsuit against Atletico Madrid for the transfer of Antoine Griezmann, Spanish media say.

The Frenchman left Atletico for Barcelona in 2019 but returned on a two-year loan in August 2021.

The Spanish side face having to pay £34million to buy Griezmann permanently if he plays more than half of their matches this season.

This obligation is only reached if he plays a full 45 minutes of football in half the games.

To avoid activating the clause, Atletico appear to be restricting his game time.

This season, Griezmann has been subbed on from the 62nd, 64th, 63th and 61st minutes of play.

But according to Sport, Barca are set to launch legal action, believing terms of the deal have already been met.

Nou Camp chiefs insist Griezmann needed to play for 45 minutes or more in over 50 per cent of the matches during his first season on loan.

And the second year would not be taken into account in calculations as it was simply an extension from the original terms agreed.

But Atletico hit back to argue the clause extends over the second season of loan.

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Meaning, by not meeting the conditions this campaign, they will not obliged to pay the full £34m transfer fee.

Barca are believed to have informed Atletico of their intentions to file a lawsuit, seeking immediate payment.

Griezmann joined Barca for £108million but failed to settle in, scoring just 35 goals in his 102 matches.

Last season, he played 39 times, scoring only eight times all while starting 32 games.

This term, Griezmann, 31, has three goals in his five matches but has only started twice.