Griezmann joined in training by fellow new recruits Frenkie de Jong and Neto
Monday 15 July 2019 15:55, UK
Antoine Griezmann was nutmegged twice during his first Barcelona training session but the forward did not seem to mind as he prepares for an anticipated debut for his new club next week.
Griezmann: Playing with Messi will be incredible
The finer details of Griezmann's contentious move to the Spanish champions from Atletico emerged over the weekend - with Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu revealing the club had to take out a loan to secure his signature.
Bartomeu said: "He is a player whom we have wanted to incorporate into the team for a while. It hasn't been easy to bring him here but we try to improve the team every year, and with the signing of Griezmann the team will take an important step up.
"We had to pay his buyout clause. We have requested a loan of €35m, to be repaid over six months, and the other €85m came from payments that we were waiting to receive."
Atletico responded to the completion of Griezmann's move by insisting they are owed a further €80m, alleging the Frenchman had committed to signing for Barcelona before his buyout clause reduced from €200m to €120m on July 1.
But Bartomeu dismissed reports Barcelona initially made contact with Griezmann in March, adding he had spoken to Atletico's president Enrique Cerezo about the fallout between the two clubs.
"I have spoken to them, but I do not think there is any proof, because there is no evidence of anything," he said.
"I understand everyone defends their interests and I've spoken to Cerezo but I don't see that the case can evolve in a positive way for them. There's nothing.
"We contacted Griezmann after he made the video saying goodbye to the fans, there was nothing in March."
Meanwhile, Barcelona continue their pre-season preparations with Griezmann enjoying his first training session alongside fellow new recruits Frenkie de Jong and Neto.
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are on holiday following their Copa America exploits but Monday's session saw the likes of Sergio Busquets, Ousmane Dembele and Marc-Andre Ter Stegen all train.
Griezmann, who has been handed the No 17 shirt, could make his Barcelona debut in next week's Rakuten Cup clash with Frank Lampard's Chelsea in Japan.
