Atleti have no Griezmann evidence, says Bartomeu

The president insists Barcelona did not negotiate with the forward in March

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has responded to claims by Atletico Madrid that they agreed a deal with Antoine Griezmann before his release clause dropped on July 1st.

The club issued a statement on Friday saying they feel they are owed €200m from Barcelona for Griezmann rather than €120m and plan to take legal action.

President Enrique Cerezo then followed that up by saying the club must have evidence to issue such a statement.

However, Bartomeu isn’t having any of it and reckons Atletico have no evidence of any wrongdoing by Barca.

“We’ve spoken with them and they don’t have evidence of anything,” he said. “But I understand that they have to defend their interests, as we do.

”We’ve been chatting with their president, Enrique Cerezo, and we will see how things evolve, but I don’t think they can do anything.

“There were no negotiations with the player in March or April. We started speaking about [the transfer] when he announced he would leave Atletico in May.

”Even then, we didn’t speak with him. He was with the French national team, and we spoke to his people.”

Source | ESPN

Bartomeu was also asked about Neymar during Griezmann’s unveiling on Sunday but insisted this “is not the time” to talk about a possible Camp Nou return for the Brazilian.

Source: barcablaugranes.com