A perfect storm is a potentially dangerous meteorological event, made more serious by a strange combination of circumstances. This is how National Geographic defines this strange temporary phenomenon that occurs very rarely. In this case we will not be talking about sun and clouds, but about a butterfly effect that has ended up being beneficial both economically and sportingly.
"The Decision": the beginning of everything
That resounding documentary about Antoine Griezmann's decision to stay at Atlético de Madrid or not gave way to a series of events. On June 14, 2018, the French striker announced that he was staying at Atlético de Madrid, against all odds. He ended that season winning the Europa League, the European Super Cup and the 2018 World Cup in Russia, a historic treble .
However, a year later he would make a 180º turn and announce his departure from the club to FC Barcelona. A transfer that ended up being a fiasco for all parties, at that time it produced the arrival of a young Portuguese to Atlético de Madrid eager to make his mark on an era.
Antoine Griezmann would join the ranks of the Catalans for 120 million euros , an amount that went towards the signing of João Félix to Benfica. According to Transfermakt, Atlético paid the Portuguese club 127.2 million euros to acquire the services of the Portuguese. The most expensive signing in its history was for the replacement and heir to the number 7 of Atlético de Madrid.
In addition to all this controversy with Griezmann, Barcelona negotiated with the French player during the season and while he was still under contract. This led to the club suing the Catalan. Finally, the latter will pay 15 million euros more to not make public the emails that demonstrated these facts.
João Félix didn't work either
If we were talking about Antoine Griezmann's failure at Barcelona, we cannot forget about João Félix's failure at Atlético Madrid. With the talent to be the best in the world, he decided to fight with everyone and finish his last two seasons on loan at two teams. Each one, with a worse performance.
The first of them would be Chelsea, his current club, which would pay 11 million euros for the loan. The second would be FC Barcelona, to which he was loaned without any financial compensation.
Meanwhile, Antoine Griezmann would return to Atlético de Madrid. First on loan, Atlético de Madrid paid an amount that rose to 10 million euros in the 21/22 season. A season later, the rojiblancos would pay 22 million euros to acquire the services of the Frenchman.
The player from Mâcon would return home, as he has acknowledged on numerous occasions, and would have to fight against all odds to regain the trust of a hurt fan base. He would eventually succeed and in this second stage he would establish himself as a club legend and all-time top scorer.
And that's all for now...
Well, this perfect storm is over. Today, the soap opera of comings and goings between the Frenchman and the Portuguese, which has certainly meant work for the red-and-white board, has come to an end.
This morning the long-awaited signing of Conor Gallagher was made official. A signing that would not have been possible without the sale of João Félix to Chelsea for 52 million + 20% of the transfer fee for a future sale . A deal that until a few days ago seemed impossible but which has finally come to fruition.
If we do the math, the result of this mess gives a profit of 38.8 million for Atlético de Madrid . Perhaps this will answer some who wonder how it is possible for Atlético de Madrid to make disbursements like those this summer. By the way, all the data has been taken from Transfermarkt