Antoine Griezmann’s Barcelona deal complete

Antoine Griezmann

Antoine Griezmann

The long pursuit of Atletico Madrid star player Antoine Griezmann by Barcelona is reportedly complete. The Catalonian side has been chasing the French forward for more than a year but to no avail. In the previous summer transfer window, he came very close to agreeing with a deal with Manchester United but that fell out due to spur of interest from Barcelona, and according to reports the deal is finally set to go through.

According to the report by L’Equipe, Barcelona has now paid the €120m release clause which allows the player to leave the La Liga club. The report adds that there might be some delay in the official confirmation due to formalities, however, the money will be credited to Atletico Madrid on Friday.

This will be the second massive signing for Barcelona after securing the services of Frankie De Jong from Ajax. The 22-year-old had a commanding role in the midfield of the Ajax side which reached the semi-final of the Champions League. Addition of versatile Antoine Griezmann will give depth to the attacking line of Barcelona.

The No.7 has made 180 appearances for Los Colchoneros in which he scored 94 goals. His extraordinary talent earned him ‘La Liga Best Player’ award in the year 2016, defeating the likes Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The FIFA World Cup winner has made 72 appearances for France national team, notching up 29 goals.

Griezmann is expected to sign a five-year deal with Barcelona that will keep him with Blaugrana till 2024. If this deal goes through all the way, then it would close the doors for Neymar to make a return to the Camp Nou. Former Barcelona winger moved to Paris Saint Germain for a record-breaking fee in 2017. Ever since moving to the French capital, the 27-year-old has struggled to find his feet. Neymar has expressed his will to return to Barcelona but after spending big on Griezmann, this move back seems highly unlikely to happen.

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