Opinion: 3 reasons why Barcelona should go for Neymar rather than Antoine Griezmann

Ever since Antoine Griezmann made the revelation that the 2018/2019 season was to be his last at Atletico Madrid, the rumor mills have been spinning over what his next club would be.

Unsurprisingly, Barcelona have emerged as his potential next destination, given that the Catalans have been long-term admirers of the French international and had a concrete bid for his services last summer turned down with Griezmann preferring to sign a contract extension with Los Colchoneros.

New reports suggest that Barcelona have cooled their interest in the World Cup winner. However, a move away from Spain could be on the cards as the man in question himself seemed to lay credence to this claim by reportedly stating that he could be set for a move away from La Liga.

Atletico Madrid chief Gil Marin has stated that Griezmann would play for Barcelona next season, but in contradiction to his claims, Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu has stated expressly that the Catalans are yet to make contact with Griezmann.

Neymar further stoked the embers of transfer speculation when he stated that he 'does not want to play there (Paris) any more' and that he wants to return to the home which he should never have left.

The Brazilian appeared to be sending a come-get-me plea to Barcelona ahead of what is gearing up to be a busy summer at Camp Nou.

With Barcelona seemingly torn between their pursuit of Griezmann and Neymar, it might e in their best interest to go for Neymar. In this piece, we shall be highlighting three reasons why Neymar would be more ideal for Barcelona than Antoine Griezmann.

#3 His excellent relationship with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez

Neymar formed an excellent partnership with Messi and Suarez

For three seasons at the Nou Camp, Neymar was one-third of the devastating Barcelona attacking trident affectionately termed 'MSN'.

Alongside Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi, Neymar ran riot over opposition defenses, scoring goals at will and laying a mark to be considered arguably the greatest attacking force in the history of the beautiful game.

In total, the trio scored 250 goals from 299 matches in all competitions across three seasons, while also registering a total of 116 assists helping Barcelona to seven trophies including a treble in their very first season together.

Beyond their great understanding on the field, the three men also have a very healthy one off it, with Lionel Messi once stating that there is a WhatsApp group created specifically for just the three of them.

Ever since Neymar departed Barcelona, the club has struggled to replace him effectively on the left flank of attack, spending millions to no avail and there is every chance that Griezmann might struggle to bond in with Messi and Suarez which would have not been the case with Neymar who would have been an instant hit picking up from where he left off.

#2 Over the years, Antoine Griezmann has shown a penchant for choking on the biggest stages

Andorra v France - UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifier

Diego Simeone deserves immense credit for transforming Atletico Madrid from a floundering mid-table side in La Liga into one of the fiercest competitors in all of Europe.

With their newfound status as one of the top teams on the continent, it is no surprise that the team has been regularly contesting for the biggest prizes in Europe, with the club making it to the final of the Champions League on two occasions as well as winning La Liga and the Europa League in the last five years.

For his part, Antoine Griezmann has also tranformed into one of the best forwards in the world since swapping Real Sociedad for Atletico Madrid in 2014, maintaining the respectable tally of scoring at least 20 goals in each of his five seasons so far at the Wanda Metropolitano / Vicente Calderon.

This is no mean feat and the 28-year-old deserves all the accolades he gets, but on delving deeper into his stats, you find the shocking revelation that on the stages when it matters most, Griezmann shockingly goes missing.

While he might have been the star of the show in Atleti's Europa League triumph in 2018, there are numerous other instances of when he either did not do enough or just proved a mere passerby when his team needed him most.

With France, he is an altogether different player and Les Bleus go-to man when in dire straits, but it is club form on the big stages which cause alarm bells to ring.

In his last 12 matches against Barcelona and Real Madrid, the World Cup winner has scored just three goals and registered one assist which is rather poor when you consider that the pair are Atletico's biggest rivals in La Liga.

He also went missing in both legs against Juventus in the just concluded Champions League season while also blazing a penalty to row Z in the 2016 Champions League final against Real Madrid.

By contrast, while his performances over the last two years at PSG might paint a different story, during his time at Barcelona, Neymar proved himself capable of delivering when it mattered most.

In the second leg of the Champions League round-of-16 clash against PSG in 2017 with Barcelona facing a damning 4-0 first leg deficit, it was Neymar who took the tie on its head, scoring and registering two assists each as well as winning a penalty for Barcelona to complete a remarkable 6-1 comeback victory.

He also scored in the final of the 2015 Champions League against Juventus and showed great nerve and composure to slot home the winning penalty in a packed Maracana at the final of the 2016 Olympic Men's football tournament to grant Brazil the one gold medal in football they had not won.

Barcelona is arguably the biggest club in the world, facing the pressure of winning all major trophies they contest for and as such, they need players who can step up to the plate when it matters most and tellingly, Neymar is more of that than Griezmann.

#1 The dressing room unanimously wants him back

Barcelona's players favor a move for Neymar over Griezmann

In the aftermath of Barcelona's shock elimination to Liverpool in the semifinal of the just concluded Champions League season, Josep Bartomeu attended an emergency meeting in Messi's house to chart the way forward.

At the conclusion of the meeting, reports emanated that in addition to making the decision to retain Ernesto Valverde due to his popularity with the players, Lionel Messi also gave the green light for the return of Neymar to Barcelona stating that the 27-year-old is still respected a lot in the Blaugrana dressing room.

Furthermore, while responding to questions in the aftermath of Uruguay's Copa America win over Ecuador, Luis Suarez also sanctioned the move stating that 'the best years of his football career were spent alongside Neymar and that everyone would want to play with a player on the level of the Brazilian. While Arturo Vidal also said the world's most expensive player would be welcome in Barcelona.

Meanwhile the former Liverpool forward was less forthcoming about Griezmann, stating that while the Frenchman is a quality player, he would prefer not to comment on his speculated transfer.

As recently as last year, Griezmann was welcome at Barcelona, with Messi stating that signing the Atletico forward would be a brilliant boost to the club.

However, the 28-year-old's decision not to heed their call, preferring to sign an extension with the Rojiblancos is said not to have sat well with the Barcelona players and with so many of their dressing room heavyweights preferring Neymar's arrival to Griezmann's, it makes no sense for the club hierarchy not to heed their wish.