Barcelona will finally pay Antoine Griezmann's buyout clause
The club has studied all the options available and in the end it'll be Barça, not Griezmann, who deposits the money with LaLiga
Antoine Griezmann's move to FC Barcelona is entering its final stretch. The deal was only held up because there was a belief an agreement could be reached between Barça and Atletico Madrid. However, that hasn't been possible and now Josep Maria Bartomeu has sanctioned depositing the €120m buyout clause with LaLiga.
Atletico turned down any attempt to negotiate a package which included instalments. This forced Barça to study all the available options and ultimately found they could pay Griezmann's clause in full, just as Atletico wanted. A deal should be made official within the next few days.
The transfer will be between the two clubs rather than the player himself depositing his buyout clause with LaLiga.
WAITING
Griezmann will remain in Ibiza, alongside his family, until that payment has been made. He won't travel to Madrid and join up with Diego Simeone in Los Angeles de San Rafael. The forward believes he is still allowed time away after finishing his season on the 11th June.
Despite threats of being fined by his current club, that won't happen.
PHONE CALL
The forward will be waiting to receive a phone call from FC Barcelona so that he can head to the Cuidad Condal and begin to work under Ernesto Valverde. Griezmann hopes to have everything sorted out so he can attend the first day of preseason (14th July) to undergo medical tests before the physical work starts on Monday 15th July.
Barça have informed the player to remain calm and that it'll be sorted soon. Whilst waiting for the confirmation, Griezmann has been working hard alongside his own personal trainer so that he's in the best possible shape for the new season.
After either opening a new line of credit or extending a current one, Barça are doing all they can to make sure Griezmann is part of the club's preseason plans.
TWO-MONTH SAGA
Once everything has been signed off then it'll bring an end to a transfer saga which has lasted almost two months. Griezmann released a video saying goodbye to Atletico on the 14th May and since then, the forward's future has been unknown.
In that farewell video, Griezmann didn't reveal where he would be going. Barça were named as one of the favourites for his signature despite him turning down a move to the Camp Nou 12 months ago. Ever since Griezmann's buyout clause dropped to €120m, things have moved much quicker.
