French international forward Antoine Griezmann will become a new player for FC Barcelona after terminating his contract with Atlético de Madrid for 120 million euros, the club announced on Friday.
"The player will sign a contract with the club for the next five seasons, until June 30, 2024, with a release clause of 800 million euros," Barcelona said in a statement.
Barcelona thus obtains an important reinforcement that it already longed for last season, but the 28-year-old Frenchman decided to stay at Atlético de Madrid as an undisputed referent of Diego Simeone's team.
Griezmann arranged with Barcelona for 120 million euros. (Getty)
His announcement and, above all, the way he did it, through a live broadcast documentary on Spanish television, did not sit well with the Barcelona fans, who greeted him with jeers during the "colchonero" team's last visit to Camp Nou.
But in mid-May, the "Principito" announced his departure from Atlético and few doubted that his destination would be Barcelona, especially after his release clause was reduced from 200 to 120 million euros on July 1.
FC Barcelona tried to negotiate with Atlético to avoid paying such a large amount of money in cash and added taxes, but the Madrid team refused, accusing the Catalan club and the French player of disrespecting them.
To expedite his departure, Griezmann did not attend the return to training of Simeone's men last Sunday and also accepted, according to the Spanish press, a reduction in his salary from 20 million to 17 million that he will earn in Barcelona.
Source: AFP
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