Cheeky ploy from Atletico to make Barca pay double for Griezmann

Atletico Madrid are frantically trying to persuade Antoine Griezmann to sign a new contract with the club in a move aimed at making Barcelona’s outlay for the player double.

LaLiga pacesetters Barca are reported to have a gentlemen’s agreement in place with the France forward that will see the one-time Manchester United target move across Spain to the Nou Camp at the end of the season.

Griezmann’s current contract allows suitors to snaffle the former Real Sociedad man for €100m (£87.5million), but Atletico hope the player will commit to an extension – and force Barca to dig even deeper for the player.

The Frenchman is contracted to the club until 2022 but will be available at a ‘cut-price’ at the end of the season unless he agrees a new deal.

Atletico want to reinstate his €200m (£175m) release clause – or even increase it to €300m (£265m), according to Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo.

The report claims Atleti hope the player will agree to their request as a gesture of good will, with the capital club mindful of the fact that his previous club Sociedad are entitled to a 20% cut of the deal.

It’s also thought Atletico’s plot could be aimed at persuading Barcelona to offer them Ousmane Dembele as part of the deal after Diego Simeone’s side were linked with the former Dortmund star on Wednesday.

However, Griezmann appears to caught between a rock and a hard place knowing the signing of the new deal would not go down well with his prospective new employers – or even force them to abandon their interest entirely.

Either way, Griezmann suggested while on international duty with France earlier this week that he is eager to get his future resolved before the 2018 World Cup kicks-off.

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