On Friday Barcelona completed the fifth most expensive transfer in association football history by signing Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid by triggering his €120 million release clause.
Embed from Getty ImagesThis however hasn’t come without it’s fair share of controversy. Not too long after the announcement, Atleti released a hard-hitting statement stating that the player and Catalans struck a deal way back in March.
As a result, Los Colchoneros felt they are owed the full €200m compared to the €120m (the figure his release clause dropped to on July 1) they were paid.
Josep Maria Bartomeu (President of Barcelona) however is relaxed and believes Atletico have no grounds for their demands.
Embed from Getty Images“I have spoken to them (Atletico Madrid), but I do not think there is any proof, because there is no evidence of anything,” The President told journalists at Griezmann’s unveiling.
Barcelona are not expected to stop here, after being questioned about the possibility of Neymar returning the president went onto say.
“We are delighted to present Griezmann, a player we wanted for a long time. Now our paths have finally crossed and it is great news for Barcelona… Now we’ve got Griezmann at the right time. We are not going to stop trying to improve our team.”
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