Griezmann, 31, had his best years between 2014 and 2019 at Atletico. In 2019, a transfer of more than 100 million euros to Barcelona followed, but the striker could not break any pots there.
Two years later, Atletico threw him a lifeline with a lease. But it was not really liberating: the clause included that the Madrilenians had to take over Griezmann permanently for 40 million euros if the Frenchman would play 45 minutes in at least half of the matches during his loan period over two seasons.
Since he played a lot last season and Atlético had no intention of paying the full pot, he has been on the bench more than he would have liked this season. Coach Diego Simeone often only took him off the bench at the hour, which drastically reduced the number of minutes played.
Griezmann, for example, only appeared at the kick-off twice this season: in the Madrid city derby against national champions Real and in the Champions League match at Club Brugge, which lost 2-0.
That absurd situation for the Frenchman is now coming to an end and Griezmann is once again given the opportunity to embellish his statistics at the club of his heart, a month and a half before the start of the World Cup in Qatar. In 304 appearances for Atléti, he scored 144 goals and provided 59 assists.
