Atletico Madrid rebuffed Griezmann's proposed return

Atletico Madrid have reportedly knocked back Barcelona’s offer to swap Antoine Griezmann for Joao Felix.

Griezmann completed his long-awaited switch to Barcelona only last summer, with the Catalan powerhouse splashing out €120million to trigger his release clause.

The 29-year-old French forward has, however, failed to replicate his Atletico Madrid form at Camp Nou, scoring just nine times in 31 La Liga outings.

Often played out of his favorite position and involved in an off-field altercation with Lionel Messi, Griezmann has never hit his stride under both Ernesto Valverde and Quique Setien.

Although Ronald Koeman recently admitted that he’d be looking to re-integrate the World Cup winner into the Barca squad, reports say the club has already tried to cut ties with their high-prized asset.

As reported by Spanish publication Marca, Barcelona have seen their like-for-like swap bid involving Griezman and Messi instantly snubbed by Atletico Madrid.

Atletico reinvested the money they obtained from the Frenchman’s move to the ‘Blaugrana’ to seal the club’s record €126million signing of Joao Felix from Benfica.

But, just like Griezmann, Felix failed to shine in the Spanish capital, returning only six goals and one assist from 21 La Liga appearances last term.

Although the 20-year-old’s decision to turn down Manchester City for Atletico turned out to be a bad call so far, the Portuguese whizz-kid has plenty of time to improve his image.

Felix has six years remaining on his contract at the Wanda Metropolitano and is central to Diego Simeone’s plans for the foreseeable future.

Also, Los Colchoneros have yet to forget the way Griezmann forced his way to Barcelona after nearly becoming a synonym to Simeone’s successful tenure.

Therefore, it’s not strange that Atletico Madrid rebuffed Barcelona’s proposal to swap their misfits.