You don’t often hear about top players taking a pay cut to leave an elite team, but sometimes a situation can just become so toxic that they need to do it for the sake of their career.
It’s not clear exactly why Antoine Griezmann struggled so much at Barcelona, but he did look like he lost all of his confidence, while playing wide on the left and suddenly playing second fiddle to Lionel Messi may have been too much for him to adjust to.
His form had nosedived over the last two seasons so it did look like he had to leave, and a report from Goal has suggested that he agreed to cut his pay by 40% to seal his return to Atletico Madrid at the end of the transfer window.
While they don’t explain exactly how much he earned, a previous report from Sport had claimed that his salary had risen to €21m per season at the Nou Camp in his second year and there were also potential bonuses on top of that, so it’s important for Barca that they managed to get him off the books.
It’s suggested that he could make his second Atleti debut on Sunday as they travel to face Espanyol, so it would be great to see him get back to his best for club and country ahead of the World Cup next year.