Neymar rocked Barcelona in the summer when he decided to call time on his Nou Camp career in favour of a move to France with PSG.
That left the Catalan giants scrambling around to sign a replacement, identifying Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele as priority targets.
Liverpool were able to retain the services of Coutinho, despite the player handing in a transfer request, while Dembele did arrive from Borussia Dortmund.
But Spanish website Don Balon claims that Lionel Messi actually wanted the club to pursue a deal for Atletico Madrid striker Griezmann.
The France international was expected to be a Manchester United player by now.
The Red Devils earmarked Griezmann as their No1 target after securing Champions League football via the Europa League last term.
However, Atletico’s transfer ban meant he decided to stay put, signing a new contract that saw his release clause raise to £184million.
But that has since changed with Griezmann now available should a club decide to cough up a relatively modest £92m.
Don Balon say Messi has given Barcelona the green light to sign Griezmann at the end of the season.
And the Catalan giants have already sounded out the player’s representatives over a deal.
Meanwhile, Sky Sports’ football expert Guillem Balague thinks Griezmann could join instead of Liverpools Coutinho.
“We do know Coutinho wanted to go to Barcelona and there was a plan for him to do so,” Balague explained.
I don’t see Liverpool getting rid of Coutinho in January at all. The summer is a completely different story.
“It’s quite clear that Barcelona do feel they need a strong midfielder in the Verratti mould, and a strong player like Coutinho.
“Remember though, it may not be Coutinho.
“They have money as well to get Griezmann, which is another target for next season.”
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