Atletico Madrid reveals Barcelona owe extra €80m for Antoine Griezmann and threaten legal action against the Catalan club

Atletico Madrid say Barcelona owe an extra €80million for Antoine Griezmann and vowed to take legal action after the French forward moved to the Catalan club for €120m on Friday.

Griezmann’s previous release clause at Atletico stood at €200m, before dropping to €120m on July 1.

The forward’s lawyers paid his €120m release clause at La Liga headquarters in Madrid on Friday afternoon, and Barcelona announced the signing shortly afterwards on a five-year contract.

But Atletico reacted by releasing a statement on their website, claiming Barca should have paid €200m for their player because the agreement had been reached before July 1st.

"Antoine Griezmann, represented by his lawyer, has appeared at the headquarters of the Professional Football League to unilaterally terminate the contract that binds the player with Atletico Madrid, having deposited Futbol Club Barcelona in the name of and on behalf of the player, the amount of 120 million euros," it began.

"Atletico Madrid believes that the amount deposited is insufficient to meet his rescission clause, since it is obvious that the commitment of the player and Futbol Club Barcelona was closed before the aforementioned clause was reduced from 200 to 120 million euros."

Griezmann is believed to have reached agreement with Barca back in March and announced his intention to leave Atletico in May, when he spoke in a video which was posted on the club's official channels.

"It was also prior to the date on which the clause was modified," the statement continued, "[and prior to] the communication that the player made on May 14th announcing his disengagement from the club."

"Atletico Madrid believes that the termination of the contract occurred before the end of last season due to events, acts and manifestations carried out by the player and that is why the club has already started the procedures it considers appropriate for the defence of our rights and legitimate interests."

Barcelona have not made any comment on the statement.