MADRID, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Barcelona have signed French international forward Antoine Griezmann from La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid for 120m euros.
The Spanish champions had made the forward a priority in the window and decided to activate the 120m euro release clause in the World Cup winner's contract.
The 28-year-old joins the Catalan club on a five-year deal with a reported release clause of 800m euros in his contract.
Barcelona had been chasing the forward's services since at least 2017 when Atletico reported the Catalan giants to FIFA over an illegal approach. Last season Barcelona also had an offer accepted by the Madrid side, however, Griezmann rejected the offer the club made, a decision he explained in his personal documentary called 'The Decision.'
Griezmann becomes the sixth most expensive signing of all time, behind Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Philippe Coutinho, Joao Felix, and Ousmane Dembele.
Atletico, who finished second last season in La Liga - nine points behind Barcelona, have now seen their third high profile departure this window. Earlier in the window full-back, Lucas Hernandez joined Bayern Munich while club captain Diego Godin joined Inter Milan after his contract expired at the end of last season.
Griezmann is Barcelona's fourth signing of this window after the Catalan club signed midfielder Frenkie de Jong from Champions League semi-finalists Ajax, defender Emerson from Atletico Mineiro in Brazil and goalkeeper Neto from Valencia.
The French attacker will join a forward line that includes the goal-scoring prowess of Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembele, and Luis Suarez.
