Report: Antoine Griezmann to Join Barcelona Next Week
Barcelona will reportedly confirm Antoine Griezmann's arrival from Atlético Madrid as early as next week following their decision to match his €120m release clause.
It's been widely speculated for months that Griezmann would be moving to Catalonia ahead of the 2019/20 season, something that was even confirmed by the France international back in May.
There's been little progress over the deal during the first few weeks of the summer transfer window, but L'Equipe (via AS) now report that Griezmann will be unveiled at Camp Nou next week after Barcelona matched his €120m release clause.
The France international did have a €200m release clause written into his current contract, but a clause within the deal saw it slashed almost in half at the start of this month.
As part of the move, Griezmann will be taking a €6m-a-year pay cut.
The 28-year-old's long-awaited move to Barcelona will also have a knock-on effect for Atlético Madrid, as they look to seal a big-money deal for S.L. Benfica starlet João Félix.
It's been known for some time that the Portuguese club received an official €126m offer for the teenage forward, but ESPN understands that the deal has been held up at Atlético's end as they continue to wait for Griezmann's exit.
An agreement has already been reached over personal terms with Félix and Benfica are happy with the fee, but Atlético Madrid can't dot the I's and cross the T's until they receive the money from Griezmann's move to Barça.
The 19-year-old will ovetake Philippe Coutinho as the third-most expensive transfer of all time once he completes the move to the Wanda Metropolitano.
