Reports | Antoine Griezmann took 40% pay-cut to re-sign for Atletico Madrid on loan
According to Goal, Antoine Griezmann took a 40 percent wage cut in order to re-join Atletico Madrid from Barcelona on loan for the remainder of the 2021/22 season. The 30-year-old endured a torrid time at the Camp Nou after his move in 2019, making just 102 appearances for the La Liga giants.
With Barcelona in serious financial crisis, reports indicated that the La Liga giants were open to selling almost every player they had but that was far from a feasible option. However, the club did either sell or let go quite a few players this summer including the likes of Lionel Messi, Miralem Pjanic, Franciscio Trincao, Emerson Royal, Junior Firpo and a few others. But reports indicated that the club’s main goal was to let go of Antoine Griezmann with the Frenchman struggling for form.
While they eventually managed that, in a shocking deadline day move with the forward signing for Atletico Madrid on loan for the remainder of the season. However, Goal has reported that in order to do so, Griezmann took a 40 percent pay-cut which meant cutting his salary by almost half, with add-ons making up the rest. That is because the Los Rojiblancos will be, reportedly, paying the forward’s salary for the duration of his loan and Atletico Madrid reportedly wanted that done.
The loan also includes an option to make the move permanent with the fee set at €40 million, including add-ons. Not only that, while Atletico did not pay any fee for the loan, the club can extend the contract by one more year if Barcelona sign off on the deal. Then the Wanda Metropolitano side will automatically have to sign the 30-year-old should Griezmann play 50% of their matches in the 2022/23 season.