News24
12 Jul 2019, 20:12 GMT+10
Barcelona - Antoine Griezmann signed for Barcelona on Thursday after the Spanish champions paid La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid the €120 million release clause required to sign the World Cup winner.
"The player will sign a contract with his new club for the next five seasons, through to June 30 2024, with a buyout clause of €800 million," Barca said in a statement.
Friday's announcement brings to an end a dispute between the two clubs and Griezmann, who had long aimed to move to the Catalan giants.
The 28-year-old failed to show up for his side's pre-season gathering on Sunday after he had announced in May he would be leaving the Wanda Metropolitano, even though he could not reveal his destination until his release clause dropped from €200 million to €120 million at the start of the month.
Last week Atletico accused Barcelona and Griezmann of a "lack of respect" after the Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu revealed the two clubs had held talks about the former Real Sociedad forward.
Atletico also claimed that Griezmann had told the club that he had struck a deal with Barcelona in March, just days before the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Juventus, which saw them dumped out by a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick after winning the first leg 2-0 in Madrid.
Griezmann joined Atletico in 2014 and has scored 133 goals in 257 appearances, lifting the Europa League in 2018.
He won the Golden Boot at Euro 2016 when France were beaten in the final on home soil by Portugal before helping to guide his team to World Cup triumph in Russia last year.
The sale of Griezmann comes after Atletico stumped up a whopping €126 million to sign rising star Joao Felix from Benfica last week, making the 19-year-old one of the five most expensive players in history.
The fee was a record paid by the capital club and the highest ever received by a Portuguese outfit, and the inevitable sale of Griezmann helps finance such a huge transfer for a young player.
Felix burst onto the scene last season, scoring 20 times and making 11 assists in all competitions for Benfica as they won the Primeira Liga and reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
On Friday, Atletico also unveiled Felix's former Benfica teammate Ivan Saponjic, the 20-year-old arriving after signing a three-year deal with the Spanish club.
Get a daily dose of Irish Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Irish Sun.
More InformationLOMPOC, California: NASA launched a new telescope into space this week to study the origins of the universe and search for hidden water...
AUSTIN/SANTA FE: Texas/New Mexico have reported 28 new measles cases in the past five days, bringing the total to 256 since the outbreak...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that helicopters will be permanently banned from flying near Washington...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: The U.S. must accelerate its efforts to develop fusion energy or risk losing its edge to China, Virginia Governor...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: In the past 20 years, China has become the world's top shipbuilder, producing more than half of all commercial ships....
ALBANY, New York: New York fired over 2,000 prison guards this week for not returning to work after a weeks-long strike that disrupted...
BELFAST, Northern Ireland: U.S. President Donald Trump expressed strong interest in Northern Ireland during discussions at a high-profile...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Three significant projects focused on marine conservation and climate change adaptation have received over 24 million...
BERLIN, Germany: Volkswagen is set to cut 1,600 jobs at its Cariad software division by the end of the year, affecting nearly 30 percent...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Dublin City Council and Cluid Housing have unveiled plans to transform a vacant site in Cabra into an affordable rental...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Mark Carney, Canada's incoming prime minister, has announced plans to renounce his Irish and British citizenships...
DUBLIN, Ireland: An all-female crew is embarking on a challenging Arctic expedition to raise awareness and funds for women's heart...