ClapAs reported by BBC and The Guardian, Antoine Griezmann has officially been unveiled as a Barcelona player after well over a year of speculation on his future in the world of football. The former Atletico Madrid star has seemingly been sold for a fee of around €120 million, but as you can see by the below quote, not all is as it seems.
Atletico have always come across as the kind of team that you don’t want to cross in any way, shape or form, but Barca really do seem to have put the cat amongst the pigeons in this regard.
“Griezmann, represented by his lawyer, has appeared at the headquarters of the Professional Football League to unilaterally terminate the contract that links the player with Atletico,” they said in a statement.
Pushing forward together?
“Atletico believes that the amount deposited is insufficient since it is obvious that the commitment of the player and Barcelona was closed before the aforementioned clause was reduced from 200 to 120 million euros.
“Atletico believes that the termination of the contract happened before the end of the last season and therefore has initiated procedures it has deemed appropriate to protect their rights and lawful interests.”
There are still way more questions than we have answers for this ordeal right now, but when push comes to shove, it feels like it’s going to be swept under the rug sooner rather than later.
In terms of what this means for Barcelona, it really is a case of ‘only time will tell’. While the Frenchman is quite obviously one of the best forwards in world football today, that doesn’t necessarily guarantee that he’s going to be a success at the Nou Camp.
We’ve seen the pressure of these big time moves get to players in the past, and the pressure that is going to be on the shoulders of Griezmann is going to be huge.
“When I was a boy my dad taught me trains don’t come around just once. Now it’s time to take on the challenge of a new destination. Finally our paths cross. I’ll defend the Barca colours with all my determination and commitment.”
The repercussions
Those are the words of Griezmann himself, and while it’s all well and good to hear him say that, now, he has to put it into operation. There’s been so much anticipation for what he’s going to be able to produce once he gets the chance to shine at Barca, and hopefully, that passion is going to shine through.
He’s already hit the pinnacle of the game in the form of France’s World Cup final win, but if he can’t make it work with Barca, there will forever be questions over his status as an elite level player. We personally believe he’s got what it takes to keep improving, but there are many that have the opposite opinion.
Excitement in football comes by every day, but transfers like this are rare – which is why there are so many eyes on it.
