Antoine Griezmann will not feature in Barcelona’s first pre-season friendly

Antoine Griezmann is not expected to feature in Barcelona’s first pre-season friendly this evening.

Griezmann has been heavily linked with a move away from the club with Barca keen to offload some of their biggest earners in a bid to get below the La Liga salary cap.

As things stand, the Blaugrana are not able to register any new contracts, and they are desperate to keep hold of Lionel Messi while also registering their four new incomings.

Griezmann appears to be one of the most likely outgoings with reports claiming Barca are offering the Frenchman to different clubs, but that did not prevent him from returning to pre-season training on Tuesday.

According to Diario AS, Griezmann, along with France teammate Clement Lenglet and Netherlands stars Frenkie De Jong and Memphis all returned to training on Tuesday but only took part in some stretching and conditioning.

The players were given extra time off due to international participation this summer, and there are a number of players, including Aguero and Messi, who will return later.

Those who did return on Tuesday are set to be left out of tonight’s friendly against Gimnastic de Tarragona, and that includes Griezmann.

Though, of course, there is nothing sinister to the fact he won’t feature with the decision solely based on the fact some players have only just returned from their summer vacations.

Many of the Barca stars have been back for a week-and-a-half, and it is those players who will feature this evening at Estadi Johan Cruyff.

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