Barcelona and Atletico Madrid close to Antoine Griezmann compromise which would end substitution farce with Barca to accept lower fee

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are close to reaching an agreement on the permanent transfer of Antoine Griezmann, it has been reported.

The 31-year-old has seen game time limited this season due to a clause in his loan contact that restricts him to substitute appearances after 60 minutes.

It was previously revealed that Atletico would have to fork out £35million to sign the France international on a permanent deal from the Catalan giants, should he play more than 50 per cent of matches this season.

Manager Diego Simeone previously hinted in a press conference he was reluctant to play Griezmann so the club did not have to pay such a fee.

Barcelona were understood to be prepared to take Atletico to court over the situation.

According to L’Equipe, however, a compromise looks to have been reached that will see Atletico pay Barcelona a lower fee of £22m to sign Griezmann, who returned to the Wanda Metropolitano in the summer of 2021, and end the farce of his substitute appearances.

The French newspaper reports that negotiations should be concluded after the international break, and Griezmann can play regularly, as he targets a place in France’s World Cup squad.

When he’s come on after the 60-minute mark, Griezmann has found the net on three occasions and continues to prove his worth to Simeone.

He scored in Atletico’s LaLiga opener which saw them beat Getafe 3-0, and netted the decisive goal as Simeone’s side beat Valencia last month.

The Frenchman also netted a stoppage-time winner in Atletico’s dramatic win over Porto in the Champions League last week.

Griezmann’s father is understood to have spoken with the lawyer of his son, Sevan Karian, regarding a solution, which is now close to being finalised.

Barcelona remained adamant they wanted £35m for his services, but have since given in, and are preparing to accept a cut-price £22m fee.

It is likely Griezmann will be amongst the substitutes when his side face Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday and the Madrid derby on Sunday.