Atletico Madrid striker, Antoine Griezmann has finally bade the team goodbye and joined Barcelona on a 120m euro (£107m) buyout clause.
The 28-year-old French forward signed a five-year deal which includes an 800m euro (£717m) release clause.
He signed a new five-year deal in June 2018, but announced in May he would be leaving the club this summer.
Atletico have been unhappy about Barcelona’s approach for the player and say 120m euros is “insufficient”.
With the payment, Griezmann is now the the world’s sixth most expensive signing behind Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Philippe Coutinho, Joao Felix and Ousmane Dembele.
Shortly after Barcelona announced the signing on Friday, Atletico responded by saying his buyout clause should have been 200m euros (£179m) – the value at the time they believe Griezmann and Barcelona began negotiating.
His release clause dropped from 200m euros to 120m euros on 1 July.
“Griezmann, represented by his lawyer, has appeared at the headquarters of the Professional Football League to unilaterally terminate the contract that links the player with Atletico,” they said in a statement.
“Atletico believes that the amount deposited is insufficient since it is obvious that the commitment of the player and Barcelona was closed before the aforementioned clause was reduced from 200 to 120 million euros.
“Atletico believes that the termination of the contract happened before the end of the last season and therefore has initiated procedures it has deemed appropriate to protect their rights and lawful interests.”
He becomes Barca’s fourth major signing of the summer, following the acquisition of midfielder Frenkie de Jong from Ajax, goalkeeper Neto from Valencia and defender Emerson from Brazilian side Atletico-MG. It takes their spending this summer to 233m euros (£199.7m.)
He joins a star-studded forward line at the Nou Camp of Messi, Luis Suarez, Dembele and Coutinho, while Paris St-Germain forward Neymar has also been linked with a return to the club this summer.
Atletico finished second in La Liga last season, nine points behind Griezmann’s new club.
