Barcelona feel that Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Juventus this summer would open the door for the Turin outfit to swoop for Antoine Griezmann, who they need to offload, according to Sport.
The Spanish publication report that the Catalan outfit’s hierarchy believe that Juventus would consider a loan-to-buy transfer for Griezmann if Ronaldo was to exit.
Having failed to make progress in their hunt for the Champions League trophy since Ronaldo arrived, there’s been constant speculation linking the all-time great with a departure this summer.
Sport note that Ronaldo, who is in the final year of his contract, is being eyed by Paris Saint-Germain as they face an issue of their own with the future of Kylian Mbappe uncertain.
Were Ronaldo to leave the Italian powerhouses, Juventus would have freed up the funds to replenish their forward line with the recruitment of someone like Griezmann.
President Joan Laporta admitted that there’s a ‘market’ for Griezmann and ‘interest’ in the Frenchman to the media, as reported by Goal.
Griezmann arrived at the Camp Nou in a big-money deal in the summer of 2019, the attacker struggled in his debut campaign but battled back to perform well in the 2020/21 season.
Nevertheless, the Frenchman is perhaps the only high earner that Barcelona can move on this summer, with interest in the likes of injury-prone superstars Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho going cold.
Even if Ronaldo decides to depart, a sale can be facilitated and the Griezmann track to Turin opens up, the player’s personal desires could prevent the transfer from happening.
Sport reiterate that Griezmann only wishes to return to Atletico Madrid if he cannot continue at Barca.
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