Why does Griezmann play less than 30 minutes per match for Atlético?

Atletico midfielder Antoine Griezmann has been a second-half substitute in every Madrid game this season. And it's no accident...

The Frenchman came on just after the hour mark in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad in La Liga. It was the Rojiblancos' fourth match of the 2022/23 season, and in each of them coach Diego Simeone gave Antoine approximately the same amount of time. In the opening match of the championship with "Getafe" (3:0), Griezmann appeared on the field in the 62nd minute, against "Villarreal" (0:2) he entered the field again after 62 minutes, in the 64th in the away "Valencia" (1:0), and then on the 63rd in San Sebastian.

Griezmann is spending his second season on loan at Atlético, and the rights to him belong to Barcelona. According to the contract, Madrid will be obliged to pay the Catalan club 40 million euros for the transfer, if the player plays more than 45 minutes in half of the meetings in which he appeared on the field.

Last season, Griezmann played more than 45 minutes in 30 out of 37 matches (81%). According to FourFourTwo, for that percentage to fall below 50%, Antoine could play more than 45 minutes in about 13 matches this season (or slightly more, including Copa del Rey and Champions League games).