FC Barcelona has given up waiting on Antoine Griezmann with reports that the team is now offering the 29-year-old to interested teams. Barca took in the French footballer but Griezmann has failed to live up to expectations this season.
As things appear now, the expensive effort of bringing in Griezmann has backfired dramatically for the Blaugranes. They spent more than $130 million to get him from Atletico Madrid. So far, the French player has managed to show only 14 goals and four assists in 37 games. This performance is a far cry from what Griezmann can do. He is normally a player who can deliver 20-25 goals.
Though Barca is placing Griezmann on the block, they are not about to agree to a mediocre deal. According to Football-Espana, Barcelona FC is interested only in offers which are more than €100 million. With that constraint in place, teams who could discuss a potential deal for Griezmann may be limited to top clubs. Among those who could seriously consider the 29-year-old are Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Chelsea. Of those teams, it appears the Red Devils are the ones who could come knocking.
Taking in Griezmann was not free from criticism. There were reportedly a lot of players who were not fine with the idea of the former World Cup winner joining them. Also, there are claims that Lionel Messi would have preferred to bring back Neymar over Griezmann from Paris Saint-Germain. Right now, the intent of Barca is clear. They want to reclaim the investment (or part of it) they placed on Griezmann and take in a player who can blend in well with Quique Setien's system.
PSG is looming as the sensible trade partner to work with if the deal would be a swap involving Griezmann and Neymar. However, there is no telling if the Parisians are keen on dealing away the Brazilian for Griezmann. There is big money involved and the performance of the French forward is not entirely enticing.
If not PSG, Man Utd could be the next best option for Griezmann. The Red Devils have been trying to bolster their attacking options and they were previously pursuing Griezmann. This was before Barcelona practically sealed the deal of acquiring Griezmann from Atletico Madrid. It will be interesting if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is still interested in getting the 29-year-old to the fold. The asking price of Barca is ridiculously high and prospective teams will likely try to bargain. If not, an option is to throw in several other assets to bring down Barca's asking price.
