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Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has said "there will be consequences" if it is discovered Barcelona agreed to sign Antoine Griezmann back in March, when his release clause was still set at €200 million (£180 million).

Barca are expected to complete the long-rumoured signing of the French forward in the coming days after his release clause dropped to €120 million (£107 million) at the beginning of the month.

Per MailOnline's Pete Jenson, though, Cerezo has hinted there could be problems if Barca are found to have agreed a pre-contract agreement with Griezmann before the buyout fee dropped:

"The truth is I don't know, but if it is as you say and he had already signed then there will be consequences. It does not seem normal to me, but I do not know if he has signed or not or if he is going to Barcelona or not. I suppose in a few days we will find out."



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When the France international announced back in May that he would leave Atleti this summer, it was widely reported Barcelona would be his next destination.

Atletico are likely looking to get as much money as possible for their star player, especially having just signed Joao Felix from Benfica for £113 million.

Per Spanish football writer Dermot Corrigan, they may attempt to get Barca to pay the original €200 million fee if they can prove an agreement was in place before the clause decreased:

Griezmann, 28, joined Atleti from Real Sociedad in 2014 for €30 million (£24 million) and has arguably been the club's most important attacking player ever since:

He could potentially form a phenomenal attacking unit at Barca with Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi and help the Catalan giants in their bid to win a sixth UEFA Champions League title.

Barcelona look to be on the verge of snapping up the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner.

But Cerezo and Atletico are clearly not going to let Griezmann go easily as they look to make as much money as possible from their prize asset.