Antoine Griezmann has his heart set on Atletico return if he leaves Barcelona

Talks over a swap deal between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid involving Antoine Griezmann and Saul Niguez continue to trudge on, although the possibility of an exchange happening is looking bleaker by the day.

Barcelona remain intent on offloading the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner as they look to drop his salary from their bloated wage bill. Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, are keen on taking him back, only a couple of years after having sold him for a massive sum of money.

However, the teams are unable to come to an agreement over the terms of the deal, reports Cadena SER, leading to the deal being “almost ruled out”.

Barcelona, for their part, are clear with their demands. The Catalans want a player plus cash in return for Griezmann while also having to not pay any part of his salary once he makes the switch like they did with Luis Suarez last season.

Atletico Madrid, though, are unwilling to offer any additional cash and are now ready to bide their time for the deal to happen. This is because they are well are that Griezmann intends to return to the Wanda Metropolitano to play under Diego Simeone again should he be forced out of Barca.

The report further adds that Griezmann is calm about the situation, as he gets set to return to pre-season training ahead of the 2021/22 campaign later this week. The 30-year-old has not received any form of communication from Barcelona over his future as of yet. But, his intentions remain clear – a return to Atleti.

However, the chances of such a move happening look very slim now, with Joan Laporta and his board of directors not satisfied with the terms offered by the reigning La Liga champions. But, in case there are no other clubs coming forward to take on Griezmann, Barcelona may well be forced to relent their stance on the matter.