Barcelona have officially announced the exit of Antoine Griezmann, with the French striker going on loan to former club Atletico Madrid on transfer deadline day. The Catalan giants also managed to secure the signing of Luuk de Jong, also on loan, from Sevilla- a transfer that appears to have been heavily influenced by FCB manager Ronald Koeman given the Dutch connection between the two.
Atleti will pay Barca a loan fee of 10 million euros and will bear the entirety of his wages, and reports suggest that Los Colchoneros have an obligation to make the deal permanent for a further 40-million-euro fee next summer. It represents a fairly good piece for business for the reigning La Liga champions, who had sold Griezmann to Barca just two seasons ago for 120 million euros.
De Jong has been in La Liga for the last two seasons but has managed only 19 goals across all competitions in that period- a far cry from his last season at PSV, where he found the back of the net 32 times in 43 games.
The Spanish giants also confirmed the departures of Ilaix Moriba and Emerson Royal on deadline day, with the former moving to Bundesliga outfit Leipzig and the latter joining Tottenham Hotspur.
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