Atletico Madrid and Barcelona are in discussions regarding a possible swap deal between strikers Antoine Greizmann and Alvaro Morata. The Frenchman is currently spending the season on loan at Atletico, while Morata is doing the same at Juventus.
Barcelona sent Griezmann out on loan to Atletico on the final day of the 2021 summer transfer window, while Los Rojiblancos had sanctioned Morata’s temporary departure to Juve the season before – for two years. Reports emerged earlier this year of the Blaugrana’s interest in the Spanish forward, but a transfer to Camp Nou failed to materialize.
Nevertheless, both Barcelona and Atletico are back at the negotiating table, discussing a possible swap involving their respective forwards. As it stands, both strikers are expected to return to their parent clubs this summer, with neither Atletico nor Juventus confident about buying them outright.
As per Marca, the two clubs’ respective sporting directors – Mateu Alemany and Gil Martin – met recently to discuss the possibility of the same. An agreement would allow Barcelona to sign Morata on a “free” transfer effectively while allowing Atletico to turn Griezmann’s loan stay into a permanent one without paying the buyout clause.
Should 29-year-old Morata complete a transfer to Barcelona, he would join a select group of players to have played for all three of Spain’s big clubs, including Real Madrid and Atletico.
The Spaniard has also turned out for Juventus during his brief career and spent a season-and-a-half in England playing for Chelsea. Despite facing some heavy criticism throughout his career, the forward has also been a stalwart for the Spanish national team, especially under the current manager Luis Enrique; he has 52 caps and 25 goals for La Roja.
Griezmann’s career trajectory also involves him playing for two of the big three clubs in Spain – Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. Like Morata, he, too, is a regular starter for the French national team, whom he helped win the FIFA World Cup in 2018. The 31-year-old is a centurion for Les Bleus; his record stands at 104 caps, 42 goals at present.
