Barça made €15m down payment on Atletico defender Gimenez
The club could not afford to make the signing in the end
On Tuesday, Barcelona presented the results of the forensic analysis into the club's financial situation. It was revealed that Barça had paid 15 million euros to Atletico Madrid.
On Thursday, RAC1 explained Josep Maria Bartomeu's board's version of events. According to the cited information, in 2019 Barça refused to pay 20 million in commission to Mino Raiola for Matthijs De Light and art the time the alternative option was Jose Gimenez, who Atletico wanted 80 million for.
Barça ended up paying 120 million for Antoine Griezmann and, as they couldn't afford both deals, they paid 15 million to guarantee the signing of Gimenez in the future. The fee also included an option on others players in case the Uruguayan got injured.
RAC1 also revealed that the signing was never closed because the pandemic arrived and Barça didn't have money to complete the deal.
