Griezmann announced that he will leave Atletico Madrid at the end of the 2018/2019 season in search of a new challenge, with Barcelona in pole position to sign the Frenchman.
But the Madrid-based club in a statement released on Friday said Griezmann and Barcelona showed them disrespect by beginning negotiations in March; a time when Atletico Madrid were heavily involved in the Champions League and tussling with the Blaugrana for the Spanish league title.
“Atlético Madrid wishes to express its strongest disapproval of the behaviour of both [parties], especially FC Barcelona, for prompting the player to break his contractual relationship with Atlético Madrid,” the statement said.
“[We have] learned that Barcelona and the player had reached an agreement in March, specifically in the days following the return match of our Champions League tie against Juventus, and that they had been negotiating the terms of the agreement since mid-February”.
Barcelona tried negotiating a fee for the World Cup winner but Atletico Madrid insist Griezmann’s €120m release clause must be paid in full before he can move to the Camp Nou.
“[Our] response was obviously negative, as we believe that FC Barcelona and the player have disrespected Atlético Madrid and all its fans,” the statement said.
“As a consequence, today, Atlético has instructed Antoine Griezmann, his sister and agent and his lawyer that he must appear next Sunday in the club’s facilities to start the pre-season … in compliance with his contractual obligations with our club.”
Griezmann was heavily courted by the Spanish champions in last year’s summer transfer window but he waived off their interest and signed a new five-year contract in the Spanish capital instead.
Griezmann joined Atletico Madrid from Real Sociedad in the summer of 2014 and has scored 133 goals in 257 appearances, winning the Europa League, Spanish Super Cup and UEFA Super Cup in his time at the club.
Already Atletico Madrid are resigned to losing Griezmann and have handed his number seven jersey to new signing Joao Felix, who moved to the Wanda Metropolitano stadium from Benfica in a £113m deal earlier this week.
