Lenglet on the edge: What will happen if Atlético retracts their signing?

The free fall of Atlético de Madrid in the last month of competition has left Clément Lenglet on the edge with the 'rojiblanco' team. The 29-year-old center-back had completed an excellent season until March, being an undisputed starter in both La Liga and Champions since October. However, everything fell apart in the last four weeks, and now, FC Barcelona watches with concern the future of the French international.

Lenglet signed with Atleti for one season, without a purchase option and with the 'rojiblancos' assuming 4 of the 16 million euros gross that the defender earns annually with the culés. Barça chose to renew him until 2027 to defer part of his salary, a strategy they had previously implemented with Samuel Umtiti, and everything seemed to be going well after the Beauvais native managed to earn Diego Simeone's trust, taking advantage of Robin Le Normand's physical problems.

Lenglet caught the collective slump of Atlético

Although Clément had been performing at a very high level, the elimination in Champions against Real Madrid and the defeats in La Liga against Getafe (2-1) and Barça (2-4) left the 'colchoneros' without options for the two main titles of the season. To make matters worse, in the last match against Espanyol (1-1), the Frenchman committed an absurd penalty in the second half that cost Atlético a draw and two points, leaving them nine points behind Barça.

After this setback, Simeone left the center-back on the bench for the return leg of the 'semis' of the Cup against the culés, but ultimately opted to bring him on in the second half. Lenglet came on quite fired up, leaving hard tackles against Eric García and Lamine Yamal that could have injured both Barça players. In the end, the 'rojiblancos' lost narrowly (0-1), bidding farewell to their last hope of a title in the 24-25 season.

Barça may be forced to lower Lenglet's price

Meanwhile, Clément is singled out, like many other players in the squad, although with a much more complex situation. Barça expected to earn around 10 million euros from his transfer, but they would ultimately have to lower their expectations to about 7-8 'kilos' to finally get rid of a heavy burden on their salary margin. If Atlético discards his transfer, the culés will have to find a team for the center-back again next summer, a recurring problem for the Barça board in recent years.