Atletico Madrid rejected the chance to bring Antoine Griezmann back to the club from Barcelona in a direct swap deal with Joao Felix, according to reports in Spain. Reports last week suggested Barcelona are ready to sell France star Griezmann, who is the club's current highest earner on £294,000 a week with free agent Lionel Messi yet to re-sign. Atletico Madrid turned down a direct swap deal involving Joao Felix (right) and Barcelona's Antoine Griezmann (left), according to reportsFelix is said to have a tense relationship with Diego Simeone (right) but Atleti will not sellThen reports from Spain earlier this week claimed Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are open to a sensational swap between the 30-year-old and midfielder Saul Niguez. But Marca claim that the Catalan outfit first approached LaLiga champions Atletico with a proposal involving a direct exchange between Griezmann and Joao Felix, who started just 14 of his 31 Spanish league appearances in 2020-21. Griezmann signed for Barcelona from Atletico Madrid for £107m in 2019 after a long transfer saga.

Source: Daily Mail July 13, 2021 08:48 UTC