Barcelona get response from Juventus for Antoine Griezmann and Paulo Dybala swap deal

Barcelona: Pundit backs Antoine Griezmann to leave club

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Barcelona have been turned down in their bid to swap Antoine Griezmann for Paulo Dybala, according to reports. The La Liga giants are looking at ways of getting the France international off the books. And Massimiliano Allegri’s side, it seems, have no interest in doing business.

Barcelona thought they’d struck gold when they forked out £107million to sign Griezmann two years ago.

But while the France international did well last term, scoring 20 goals, he’s still failed to live up to expectations.

Griezmann has never come remotely close to firing Barcelona to La Liga or Champions League glory and, with the club in a financial crisis, they are looking to get him off the books.

On Tuesday, it emerged that Barcelona were looking to offload the 30-year-old in a direct swap deal that would see Dybala head in the opposite direction.

Barcelona have long admired the Argentina international, with interest dating back to his time at Palermo.

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But La Gazzetta dello Sport claim Juventus have no interest in swapping their No 10 for Griezmann, with the Old Lady adamant Dybala won’t be sold this summer.

The Old Lady will need to watch their finances, too, especially given the huge pay packet they give Cristiano Ronaldo every week.

And while Griezmann would be a good asset for the Serie A giants to have, they’re unwilling to let Dybala move to Barcelona as his replacement.

Juventus are reportedly looking at extending Dybala’s contract, which is due to expire next year.

And they’re hopeful that, with Allegri now in charge following the sacking of Andrea Pirlo, they’ll be able to get the 27-year-old back to his best.

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Regarding Griezmann, it remains to be seen what Barcelona decide next.

He’s not likely to start most matches going forward, with Ronald Koeman likely to deploy an attacking front three of Lionel Messi, Memphis Depay and Sergio Aguero.

Manchester United are a potential option, though they’re only willing to go for the France international under the right circumstances.

Chelsea are in the mix, too, even though Erling Haaland seems to be their priority at the current moment in time.

And Manchester City have also been linked, despite Harry Kane being Pep Guardiola’s No 1 target over at the Etihad Stadium.

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Griezmann recently opened up on his future, admitting he’d love to play in the MLS one day.

“My contract with Barcelona is until June of 2024 and after that I think it will be the right time to go to the United States,” he said.

“I love the country, the culture, the NBA and the desire to discover new things draws me there.

“I’d love to finish my career there.”

In March, however, Griezmann insisted he would like to stay at Barcelona following their Champions League exit at the hands of PSG.

“I feel very good, with my teammates and the coach,” he said.

“I am here to help, be it 10 minutes or 90. I am at the service of the collective.

“It’s time to keep our heads up and feel confidence because of how we played. We need to keep improving. We are hacked off because we were desperate to go through.

“I don’t think we deserved to go out [of the Champions League] this early but next year we’ll try to win this competition.”

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