Enrique Cerezo, the president of Atletico Madrid, has expressed his desire to bring Antoine Griezmann back to the club from Barcelona.
During his five years at Atletico, the Frenchman established himself as one of Europe’s best forwards before moving to Camp Nou for €120 million in the summer of 2019.
Griezmann has since struggled to meet the same high expectations with Barcelona, and Cerezo hopes to see him return to Wanda Metropolitano in the future.
“Any team would be crazy to have Griezmann,” the Atletico manager told Cadena Ser in Spain.
“He’s a fantastic player, and I’m hoping to reclaim him, but I don’t believe Barcelona wants to sell him.
“He’s had magnificent seasons here and was built at Atletico.”
In terms of final-third output, Griezmann’s second season at Barcelona has been slightly better than his first, but he has still struggled for consistency under Ronald Koeman’s guidance.
To date, the 30-year-old has scored 19 goals in 50 appearances across all competitions, including one in their 4-0 Copa del Rey final victory over Athletic Club, while also assisting on 12 occasions.
Griezmann was far more influential during his time at Atletico, having established himself as Diego Simeone’s main centre-forward.
Los Rojiblancos won three trophies, including the 2017-18 Europa League, thanks to the World Cup winner’s 133 goals in 257 games.
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