Antoine Griezmann Reveals Atletico Madrid Talks Amid Barcelona Rumours

Antoine Griezmann has offered Atletico Madrid fans some hope he may stay at the club past the summer despite ongoing links to Barcelona.

After Atleti claimed an impressive 1-1 draw against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League semi-final on Thursday, goalscorer Griezmann told COPE talks were ongoing with the Madrid club (via MailOnline's Adam Shergold): "If I'm going to continue at Atletico, I don't know. We'll see. We're talking to the club to see what can be done."

The 27-year-old has been heavily linked with Barcelona for some time, and Le 10 Sport reported in March he had "committed to a summer move" to the Camp Nou (h/t AS).

However, it seems as though the situation may not be as cut and dried. 

The France international has been at Atletico since 2014 and has long been their most important attacking player. He proved his worth again on Thursday, taking advantage of Laurent Koscielny's mistake to net a late equaliser against Arsenal.

Atleti are consequently in control of the tie despite going down to 10 men after 10 minutes in north London, per BT Sport:

A prolific creator and goalscorer, Griezmann has combined for at least 23 goals and assists in La Liga during each of his four seasons with the club.

He would be difficult to replace despite the fact his sale would raise plenty of money for the club—his release clause is set at €100 million (£88 million), per Sport.

It is understandable Griezmann would be keen on a move to Barca; his chances of winning major silverware would be much better at the Camp Nou.

However, the Blaugrana already have a wealth of high-profile attacking talents, from Lionel Messi and Philippe Coutinho to Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez.

As a result, Griezmann may be nervous he wouldn't have a regular first-team place at the Camp Nou.

At Atleti, he will always be the star man. That could be enough to persuade him to remain at the club.