Bartomeu and Pique to meet after player's holiday

Bartomeu and Pique to meet after player's holiday

Josep Maria Bartomeu y Gerard Piqué el 29 de enero de 2018, en el anuncio oficial de la renovación de contrato del defensa por el Barça
Josep Maria Bartomeu y Gerard Piqué el 29 de enero de 2018, en el anuncio oficial de la renovación de contrato del defensa por el Barça | Valentí Enrich

If there's no change of plans, the duo will meet to discuss Griezmann documentary in August

The meeting between Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu and centre-back Gerard Pique is planned for when the Spain international returns from his holiday. 

The reason for the meeting is to clarify their positions on the documentary which saw Antoine Griezmann turn the club down for Atletico Madrid, which Pique was indirectly involved in. 

Pique will return to Spain on Monday with the rest of his teammates after they were eliminated from the World Cup, losing to Russia on penalties. 

From there, he will begin his holiday, which in principle, before Spain's early exit, was going to rule him out of the club's tour of the United States, which begins on July 24 with Bartomeu's presence. 

Therefore, unless one of the two parties call for the meeting to happen earlier, the interview between Bartomeu and Pique will not take place until the team returns to Barcelona and the player from his holiday. 

THE detonator 

The reason for the meeting is due to the tension which generated through Barça's failure to sign Griezmann. The French international's future was unknown for months: would he renew with Atletico Madrid or sign for Barcelona? 

All was revealed in a documentary called 'The Decision', which was produced through Pique's production company and shown on Spanish television. 

The majority of Barça's hierarchy learned of Griezmann's decision at the same time as the viewers. And those that did know had learned a few hours before it aired after being advised by Pique. 

Pique, along with Samuel Umtiti, helped to generate expectation about the documentary by tweeting about it. 

It left Barça annoyed with the defender and vice president Jordi Mestre announced that the club would speak with Pique and Umtiti after the World Cup. 

Pique's response was that the club had his telephone number and they could phone him if they wanted to talk. 

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