Reports in Spain, France and England claim that the scandalous defeat Barcelona suffered at Anfield sparked the Nou Camp club’s hierachy into desperate moves to acquire Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann.
French publication, Le Parisien, had reported on Thursday last week that the forward would join Barcelona after confirming that Eric Abidal convinced the Los Rojiblancos striker to lower his salary to join the Blaugrana.
After the 4-0 in a Champions League semi-final fiasco at Anfield, the La Liga champions kicked-started the process of reinforcing their squad.
They have already signed Frenkie de Jong from Ajax, there are talks over Matthijs de Ligt, and Barcelona want Griezmann to bolster the attack.
The publication added that Abidal didn’t break contact with Griezmann’s people after the player didn’t join last summer, and that he wants to come to Barcelona in order to win more trophies. They think it’s possible Abidal already has reached an agreement with Griezmann.
Tuesday’s video of Antoine Griezmann saying goodbye to Atletico Madrid supporters might not have mentioned Barcelona but the Frenchman’s destination is now very clear.
Barcelona, the Daily Mail also discloses, set out two standout objectives after the Anfield debacle – win the race to sign Matthijs de Ligt from Ajax and complete the signing of Griezmann, forgetting all about his video snub to the club last season.
Griezmann’s capture gives them back a front three to match the trident that shot them to a treble in 2015. Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez will hope to form just as deadly an attack with Griezmann as with Neymar. And the signings will not stop there.
Well-informed Catalunya Radio say a four-man Barcelona delegation including general manager Pep Segura and director of football Eric Abidal met with Mino Raiola in Monte Carlo in April to thrash out a deal for De Ligt. And Barcelona are confident they will be able to announce the signing before the end of this week.
There was some reticence because Gerard Pique has had a superb season and De Ligt plays on the same side as the 32-year-old retired Spain international. But Barcelona believe the 19-year-old Ajax captain is the perfect long-term replacement for Pique and could also play alongside him.
Barca are attacking the problems that were laid bare at Anfield from two directions. De Ligt is a teenager and very much the future. Griezmann is already a World Cup winner.
‘Not all the arrivals with be teenagers. Sometimes you have to sign the players who are 27, 28,’ said president Josep Bartomeu in an interview with Sportsmail recently. Barcelona’s plan last summer was to do exactly that with 28-year-old Griezmann seemingly on his way to the Nou Camp.
Griezmann has been there and done it. He has won a league, not to mention a World Cup, he will no more need time to adjust than Ivan Rakitic did when he arrived from Sevilla in 2014.