Barcelona pushes for another forward transfer swap after botched deal

FC Barcelona are desperate to find a way to show Antoine Griezmann the door this summer, and are approaching Serie A giants Juventus FC for another possible swap deal. The report comes shortly after it has been revealed that talks with Atletico Madrid have fallen through earlier in the week.

The French forward was being mooted for an Ateletico Madrid comeback, with Saul Niguez heading to take his place at the Camp Nou. However, the two La Liga giants did not reach a compromise after Barcelona refused to accept a straight player swap. They wanted either an additional fee for Griezmann, or more players. On the other hand, Atletico were not willing to shoulder the full amount of Griezmann's salary, and were hoping for Barcelona to continue sharing the load.

According to Marca, now that Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have decided to call off their negotiations, the Catalans are hoping that Juventus will be more agreeable to their terms for a similar swap deal for Paulo Dybala. Barcelona want to send Griezmann packing in order to slash a large chunk off their wage bill for next season. They will be hoping to offer Dybala a much lower package than what they will be owing the Frenchman is he stays.

On top of his massive salary, Griezmam also irked one of the club's main sponsors, Rakuten, after a video emerged of him and Ousmane Dembele mocking Japanese hotel workers. The Japan-based company is looking for concrete actions from the club, and their partnership renewal is in jeopardy.

Griezmann may very well have to take one for the team in order to pacify both Rakuten and Konami, another Japan-based club partner.

Meanwhile, Dybala had a mediocre season with Juventus last year, after having been sidelined for a couple of months due to a knee injury. He will be looking forward to being in a club that will guarantee more game time, but he will face some tough competition both at Turin and at Barcelona.

The talks are in the initial stages, and it remains to be seen if it bears fruit. Either way, Barcelona need to find a solution to their salary cap issues quickly, or else risk putting Lionel Messi's contract renewal in jeopardy.