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What’s the story?
According to reports emerging from Spain, Atletico Madrid is set to use the money from the sale of their French striker Antoine Griezmann to fund a potential move for Benfica's sought after 19-year-old forward, Joao Felix.
In case you didn’t know…
Antoine Griezmann had announced towards the end of the La Liga season that this would be his last season with Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid. The 28-year-old Frenchman has been a key player for Los Rojiblancos ever since his arrival from Real Sociedad in 2014.
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Griezmann was Atleti's top scorer this season, scorinng 21 goals and providing 11 assists across all competitions. The 2018 FIFA World Cup winner with France also won the 2017-18 UEFA Europa League, the 2018 UEFA Super Cup and the 2014 Supercopa de Espana with Atletico.
19-year-old Benfica forward Joao Felix has had a breakthrough season with the Portuguese giants, scoring 19 goals and providing 8 assists across all competitions. His scintiallating performances in the Liga NOS and the UEFA Europa League has caused a host of Europe's top clubs to battle it out for his signature over the summer.
The heart of the matter
As reported by Marca, the release clause of Antoine Griezemann is set to drop to € 120M by July 1. By this time, Barcelona are set to activate the same to purchase the French World Cup winner.
With Joao Felix's release clause with Benfica also being €120 million, Atleti are gearing up to purchase the youngster using the money from Griezmann's move, beating their previous highest transfer amount of €72 million paid for of Thomas Lemar from Monaco last summer.
What's next?
Media outlets in Spain are reporting that Barcelona will announce Griezmann's signing by July 1, at which time Atletico is also expected to make a move for Joao Felix.
