Antoine Griezmann is facing a fine with Atletico Madrid opening disciplinary proceedings after he failed to turn up for training on Sunday.
The French striker is in the process of securing a move to Barcelona but the negotiations have turned sour, Atletico accusing the Catalan club of tapping him up.
And Griezmann has risked further damaging his relationship with Los Rojiblancos, deciding not to show at the club’s Majadahonda headquarters on Sunday evening.
That resulted in him not travelling with the rest of the squad to San Rafael de los Angeles, northwest of the Spanish capital. Atletico had also demanded Griezmann report for duty, given he was still under contract at the club – even though he announced his departure almost two months ago.
After accusing Barcelona of essentially wrecking their season, the Spanish champions will now have to pay Griezmann’s full release clause of €120million up-front to sign the player.
They have flatly refused to accept Barcelona’s request to pay the release clause in instalments after being made aware of an agreement being reached in March.