"Barcelona" president Josep Bartomeu confirmed on Friday at a press conference about the interest in Antoine Griezmann, but Madrid's "Atletico" released a statement stating that the Frenchman agreed with the Catalan club without their knowledge during the current season.
"Atletico" claims that A. Griezmann secretly agreed with "Barcelona" just before the UEFA Champions League quarter-final match with Turin's "Juventus".
"Atletico" in its statement expressed great disappointment with the behavior of both the representatives of "Barcelona" and A. Griezmann himself.
In response to Bartomeu's statements, we want to confirm that on Thursday there was a meeting between Miguel Angel Gil and "Barcelona" director Oscar Grau at the request of "Barcelona". O. Grau showed interest immediately after Antoine Griezmann's contractually stipulated release clause dropped from 200 million to 120 million euros and also requested that the previous release payment be postponed.
"Atletico"'s response was negative, as we believe that "Barcelona" and the player showed disrespect to the "Atletico" club and its fans.
Due to the circumstances today, "Atletico" informed Antoine Griezmann, his sister, agent and lawyer that the player, following the conditions stipulated in the contract, should appear at Sunday's training session.
In conclusion, we want to express deep disappointment with both parties, especially with "Barcelona" club, which during the season urged the player to sever ties with the "Atletico" club, which was then competing in the Champions League and fighting for the Spanish league title against "Barcelona". In our opinion, this violates any secure negotiation process conditions and breaks fair play rules in any sports competition, causing tremendous harm to the entire club and millions of our fans", - stated in the official "Atletico" club statement.
"Atletico" may appeal to FIFA regarding the behavior of the "Barcelona" club.
