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Antoine Griezmann officially joins Barcelona

Antoine Griezmann officially joins Barcelona
© Reuters
The France forward, 28, will sign a five-year contract.

France forward Antoine Griezmann will join Barcelona from Atletico Madrid after the Catalan club announced they had paid his 120 million euro (£107.6m) buyout fee.

The 28-year-old will sign a five-year contract which ties him to Barca until June 30, 2024.

Griezmann's new contract contains a buyout clause of 800m euros (£733m), the Spanish champions added in a statement.

"With his arrival at FC Barcelona, the Frenchman takes another step forward in his career with the goal of consolidating his place as one of the best players in the world," the Spanish league champions said in a statement.

Griezmann had announced in May he would be leaving Atletico Madrid after spending five seasons in the Spanish capital.

Highest transfer fees of all time
(PA Graphic)

Barcelona have long been linked with a move for the 2018 World Cup winner.

Last month Atletico Madrid chief executive Miguel Angel Gil Marin revealed he had known about the impending transfer since March.

Griezmann moved to Atleti from Real Sociedad in 2014 and helped the club win the Europa League in 2018, scoring twice in the final against Marseille.

He joined Sociedad at the age of 14 and made his debut for the San Sebastian side aged 18.

As well as his World Cup success with France, he is also a Champions League and European Championship runner-up after Atletico and France fell at the final hurdle in those respective competitions in 2016.

Atleti later released a statement in which they said the sum received for Griezmann was "insufficient", arguing that the deal had effectively been done before the player's buyout clause dropped from 200m euros to 120m on July 1.

The Madrid club added they had "started procedures" to ensure they receive the amount they feel is owed to them.

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Antoine Griezmann celebrates scoring for Atletico Madrid on September 25, 2018
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Barcelona26183571254657
2Real Madrid27176457263157
3Atletico MadridAtletico27168344182656
4Athletic Bilbao271310445242149
5Villarreal26128648361244
6Real BetisBetis2711883533241
7Mallorca27107102633-737
8Rayo Vallecano279992929036
9Celta Vigo27106114041-136
10Sevilla279993236-436
11Real Sociedad27104132328-534
12Getafe2789102322133
13GironaGirona2796123540-533
14Osasuna2671273237-533
15Espanyol2677122537-1228
16Valencia2769123045-1527
17Leganes2769122440-1627
18AlavesAlaves2768133040-1026
19Las PalmasLas Palmas2766153045-1524
20Real ValladolidValladolid2744191862-4416


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