ATLETICO MADRID are attempting to avoid paying £34million for Antoine Griezmann – by only playing him for 28 minutes per game.
The 31-year-old star is currently on loan at Atletico from Barcelona but has a contract stuffed with clauses.
Atletico face having to pay £34m to buy him permanently if he plays more than half of their matches this season.
This obligation is only reached if he plays a full 45 minutes of football in half the games.
UOL report that to avoid activating the clause, Atletico are making sure to restrict his game time.
The opening two LaLiga games saw him come off the bench at the same time and play for exactly 28 minutes.
READ MORE ON FOOTBALL
In their most recent game at Valencia, Griezmann’s time on the pitch was fractionally less as he appeared on the 64th minute for the remaining 26 minutes of the game.
Despite Diego Simeone limiting the Frenchman’s game time to very specific blocks, he has still managed to shine.
He scored two minutes after coming off the bench against Valencia, while the opening game at Getafe saw him net 15 minutes from time.
The only game he failed to make an impact in was the home loss against Villarreal, where Atletico had a player sent off.
Most read in Football
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST NEW CUSTOMER SIGN UP DEALS
It means Atletico have begun the season with six points from nine, with Real Madrid and Real Betis the only sides to make 100 per cent starts.
Griezmann’s parent club Barcelona remain unbeaten on the field, but off the pitch the club continued to be mired in issues.
Along with their creative attempts to ease their financial issues, the club have also clashed with the likes of Frenkie de Jong and Martin Braithwaite over unpaid wages and contract terminations.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
