Barcelona have officially announced the capture of Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid, who have raised a dispute in the money paid by the La Liga champions.
The Barcelona, Antoine Griezmann saga has been shrouded in controversy for more than a year now. But, it has no signs of coming to an end, even after Barcelona announced the long-awaited capture of the French international. Atletico Madrid have released an official statement iterating that Barcelona have paid less than what they are supposed to pay.
⚠ All the details about @AntoGriezmann, new Barça player
??— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 12, 2019
Barcelona have reportedly shelled out the requisite €120 million release clause in his contract to the LFP. But, as per Atletico Madrid, the clause kicks in on July 1 while they claim Barcelona agreed the deal before the date, which means the La Liga champions have to submit the previous clause value to get Griezmann, which stood at €200 million.
Barcelona have iterated that Antoine Griezmann will sign a five-year deal with the club, with the Catalan giants inserting a mammoth €800 million buyout clause in his contract. But, with Atletico Madrid demanding the previous clause money to be paid, it will be interesting to see what becomes of the entire deal.
Antoine Griezmann has dominated world football for the last four-five years now, holding his own in front of the indomitable duo of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The 2018-19 season was a bit of a dampener, especially after having pocketed the 2018 FIFA World Cup with France.
It was his lowest-scoring league campaign since the 2012-13 season and his lowest in Atletico colours, with Griezmann only managing 15 goals in La Liga, with 8 assists to his name. But, what was impressive was his return from the centre-forward position, with Griezmann scoring a total of 17 goals in 24 games in the position in all competitions.
Barcelona though, will unlikely be deploying Griezmann in the centre-forward position, at least until Luis Suarez is a feasible option. The Catalans are aware of the Frenchman’s versatility and will likely form a trio with Messi and Suarez upfront. But, this could spell trouble for the likes of Malcom, Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele.
We could see Barcelona do away with at least two of the three aforementioned stars, with Dembele the likeliest to be retained. Also, with Barcelona interested in bringing back Neymar, it will be interesting to see whether they pull the plug on that chase after capturing Griezmann.
If they still go ahead with their pursuit of Neymar, we could see Griezmann slot in as centre-forward and take Luis Suarez’s place in the MSN trio. A lot is still left, with Barcelona having to go through the burden of the dispute raised by Atletico Madrid. Regardless, the Catalans will be happy they have finally got their man.