Griezmann And Coutinho Will Now Stay At FC Barcelona After Transfer U-Turn

Philippe Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann are FC Barcelona’s most expensive and third-most expensive players purchased in 2018 and 2019 respectively, to fill a Neymar-sized hole after PSG broke the world transfer record for the Brazilian four years ago.

Whether they have failed to kick on properly in Blaugrana due to being shoehorned into his left wing spot is another discussion.

There are other more pressing matters, such as Barca’s dire financial situation and the need to offload players and balance the books so that Lionel Messi can be offered a contract extension.

This has led to a number of stars being put up for sale, with high earners Coutinho and Griezmann chief among them.

And while a move to the Premier League PINC was being touted for the former, his injury and therefore zero involvement in Brazil’s Copa America campaign to put him in the shop window means a buyer has not yet been found.

As for Griezmann, a shock return to Atletico Madrid has been entertained which would see midfielder Saul Niguez head in the other direction. But such talk has died down recently though Atleti president Enrique Cerezo has not given up yet.

“We never rule anything out, but I can say that it is not a signing [already finalized] or an easy thing [to make],” he said this week.

“We are waiting for news, not only from Griezmann, but from any player. In this specific case I think it will be very difficult,” Cerezo admitted.

According to Mundo Deportivo, though, both Griezmann and Coutinho are back in Ronald Koeman’s first team plans as he believes they “can be two important players next season” while hoping they “can make the final leap as Barca players”. 

The coach has noticed Griezmann’s motivation and hard work in preseason, plus was also impressed when he gave new signing Memphis Depay a penalty to take on his debut against Girona last weekend.

Simultaneously, he is confident that Coutinho can reach his Liverpool level again after recovering from his knee knock, and expects him to link up with the squad after their friendly against Stuttgart in Germany later today.

Due to this, Barca will only accept unrefusable offers for the duo - which seem unlikely to arrive given the similarly precarious financial predicament of many clubs around Europe.