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What's the story?
According to reports from Catalan media outlet SPORT, a deal for Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann will be made official in the next few days as Barcelona are finally ready to pay the release clause of the player.
In case you didn't know
The latest news in the long transfer saga regarding Griezmann is that Atletico Madrid released an official statement where they labelled Barcelona's approach to sign their player 'disrespectful' to them and their fans.
Earlier, Griezmann missed Atletico Madrid's training session without informing the club hierarchy and has been subjected to a fine by the Los Rojiblancos. In their official statement, the Madrid outfit asked their forward to be present for pre-season training.
The long transfer saga started last summer when Barcelona were interested in the player but Griezmann publicly rejected a move to Nou Camp. The French superstar signed a new contract with Atletico but his buyout clause dropped from £171 million to £107 million at the start of July.
The heart of the matter
It is an open secret that Griezmann has set his mind on joining Barcelona this summer. The Catalan giants have reportedly agreed on personal terms with the player but Atletico are not willing to negotiate following their statement.
According to the report, Barcelona have decided to finally activate Griezmann's release clause and they will pay the €120 million amount. The Blaugrana hierarchy tried to negotiate with Atletico but the Madrid outfit were not ready to reach an agreement.
The Griezmann saga is finally coming to an end as Blaugrana president Josep Maria Bartomeu will be paying the buy-out clause. The deal will be made official in the next couple of days.
Meanwhile, the 28-year-old will keep ignoring Atletico Madrid's disciplinary punishments and he will not travel to Madrid until the payment has been made. The player will hope to join his new club before their pre-season begins on 14th July.
What's next?
Griezmann to Barcelona saga is set to end finally but it remains to be seen when the official announcement will be made.
