Barca chief meets with Griezmann's family

Matt Morley 6 years ago 3.5k |

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Could Griezmann be set to join a domestic rival? EFE/Archivo

Reports in Spain claim that Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has met with the family of Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann as the Catalan side look to step up their chase of the forward.

Spanish publication 'Mundo Deportivo' reports that the Barca hierarchy is so keen to force through a deal for the Frenchman that it has put its big-hitters on the case.

Bartomeu has been personally assigned the job of making the deal go through, with Griezmann's signature thought to be one of Barca's top priorities for the coming summer.

A clause in Griezmann's contract is due to become active in the summer that will see his release clause drop back to €100m, a figure which Barca see as fair given the quality of the player and the inflated fees being banded about these days.

The next task for Barca is to convince those close to Griezmann that the Camp Nou is the ideal destination for him and according to the aforementioned source, club chiefs have already met with the player's family in an attempt to convince them just that.

The move would be a further statement of intent form Barca following the signing of Ousmane Dembele earlier this summer. Griezmann has been heavily linked with a move away from the Wanda Metropolitanoo in recent times, with Barcelona one of the sides said to hold a long-term interest.

There remains plenty of work to do to get a deal over the line but Barca are well aware that they are not the only club prepared to spend €100m on the star. As such, they are looking for the player to commit to the move in order to allow them to negotiate with Atletico in good faith rather than risk yet another summer saga.