Barcelona Rumors: Atletico Madrid Pushing For Barca Striker's Return – Report

One of Antoine Griezmann’s former clubs could become the favorite to sign him this summer.

Griezmann is being linked to a move away from Barcelona once again. While nothing is concrete yet, the Frenchman could be looking at the possibility of returning to Atletico Madrid, Sport reported.

Barca needs to find a solution to address its financial crisis, and one of the things that could possibly be done is to offload a few high-earning players, including Griezmann. There has been a “talk of a trade” with Atletico Madrid’s Saul Niguez, but some believe that the Catalans are more interested in a Griezmann-Joao Felix “swap,” the report said.

Regardless of what type of deal pushes through, Griezmann’s return to Atletico Madrid “could become a reality in the coming days” as the club’s manager Diego Simeone is now yearning to bring him back to his squad, according to Sport. The striker himself is also open to the idea, the report claimed. International Business Times could not independently verify this information.

Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman had earlier hinted that he doesn’t have a clear view of what is waiting for Griezmann. Instead, Koeman stressed that Barca’s top priority is Lionel Messi’s contract extension.

"[Antoine] Griezmann is very important for me,” Koeman admitted. “He's been a great signing for Barcelona and has shown his quality. He's performed well and is a very good player. But I insist, I don't know which decisions will be made.”

“The most important thing is for Leo [Messi] to sign a new contract,” he continued. “He is the future of the club, and we need to try everything to get him to sign."

Griezmann played some of the best football of his career under Simeone at Atleti. From 2014 to 2019, the pair copped a number of titles – the Spanish Super Cup, the Europa League and a European Super Cup.

Since becoming one of Barcelona’s most expensive signings in 2019, Griezmann’s relationship with the Catalans has been plagued with controversy.

Lifting the lid on the subject, Griezmann bared that he used to be “unhappy” with Barcelona because the club made him feel irrelevant for the first time in his career.

"Yes [I was unhappy at Barcelona],” Griezmann told French outlet L'Équipe last month. “When you lose the title, for example, it makes me sad. Also at the beginning of the season, because I wasn't playing, I didn't feel important.”

“I'm used to playing everything - the big games - I find myself on the bench against Real Madrid,” he continued. “It's annoying to see teammates warming up on the pitch while you are next to them. But these are the coach's decisions and I have to accept it and do everything I can to change his mind.”