This archive report was first published on 13 July 2019.
On July 12, 2019, Barcelona announced the signing of French striker Antoine Griezmann for €120 million from Atletico Madrid, a move that has sparked a dispute over the buyout clause.
Griezmann, 28, had rejected a move to Barcelona last year but announced in May that he was leaving Atletico, where he had spent the last five seasons since signing from Real Sociedad in 2014.
Barcelona have been trying to lure Griezmann to the Nou Camp since November 2017, but the forward signed a new five-year deal with Atletico in June 2018 that had a €200 million buy-out clause, which dropped to €120 million on July 1, 2019.
Atletico Madrid claims that Griezmann's May 14 announcement that he was leaving the club is proof that a deal had already been struck between the player and Barcelona before his buy-out clause dropped.
“Atletico Madrid considers that the deposited amount is insufficient to cover (Griezmann’s) buyout clause, since it is obvious that the agreement between the player and FC Barcelona was closed before the clause was reduced from €200 million to €120 million,” the club said in a statement.
Barcelona, however, maintains that they have paid the €120 million buyout clause to release Griezmann from Atletico Madrid.
The capture of the France striker adds further firepower to a Barca strikeforce already containing Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, and could yet be bolstered further by the return of Neymar Jr.
