Atleti say Griezmann fee is ‘insufficient’ and start legal action

The club feel they should have been paid €200m

Atletico Madrid remain pretty unhappy with Barcelona and have released a statement following the announcement that Antoine Griezmann has joined the Spanish champions.

Los Colchoneros reckon the €120 million they have received for their World Cup winner is “insufficient” because they are convinced the deal to take him to the Camp Nou was struck before his release clause dropped from €200m to €120m on July 1st.

Here’s the statement:

“Antoine Griezmann, represented by his lawyer, has appeared at the headquarters of the Professional Football League to unilaterally terminate the contract that binds the player with Atlético de Madrid, having deposited Fútbol Club Barcelona in the name and on behalf of the player the amount of 120 million euros.

“Atlético Madrid believes that the amount deposited is insufficient to meet his rescission clause, since it’s obvious that the commitment of the player and Barcelona was closed before the aforementioned clause was reduced from €200m to €120m.

“Atlético Madrid believes the termination of the contract occurred before the end of last season due to events, acts and demonstrations carried out by the player and that is why we’ve already started procedures considered appropriate to defend our rights and legitimate interests.”

Source | Atletico Madrid

The whole Griezmann transfer has been a long-running saga that has already seen Atletico Madrid hit out at Barcelona on a number of occasions.

They filed a complaint to FIFA in December 2017 and issued an angry statement last week accusing Barcelona of disrespect when attempting to negotiate for Griezmann.

Atletico CEO Gil Marin has previously said he’s known since March that Griezmann would be joining Barcelona, and while the Frenchman has now switched clubs it seems the saga is still not over.

Source: barcablaugranes.com