Furious Atletico Madrid ‘ready to sell’ Antoine Griezmann to Manchester United after reporting Barcelona to Fifa for another ‘tapping up’ scandal
Sponsored by
ATLETICO MADRID are "ready to sell" Antoine Griezmann to Manchester United after accusing Barcelona of yet another tapping up scandal and reporting them to Fifa.
The Madrid club are furious with the Catalan giants for allegedly meeting with Griezmann’s family and have accused their La Liga rivals of “repeated contact.”
Griezmann, 26, looked destined to join United last summer before a transfer ban kicked in for Atletico.
Given the Frenchman’s fondness for the club, he stayed for at least another season, with Diego Simeone unable to sign a replacement for him.
And in the meantime, Barca have ramped up their PR campaign to woo the player, through their local media channels, while Mundo Deportivo claimed last week that club officials had dined with Griezmann’s family.
The former Real Sociedad player is well known to be a United supporter as a kid and a huge admirer of David Beckham.
MAN UTD NEWS
Meanwhile Atleti have accused their domestic rivals of throwing this season’s La Liga title race into turmoil over the approach - and they refuse to sit on their hands over the allegations and let their best striker become unsettled.
And according to the they are ready to flog Griezmann to United just to get one over their domestic rivals.
UTD EDEN PROJECT Manchester United join Real Madrid in race for £90m Chelsea superstar Eden Hazard
An Atletico statement statement said: “Atletico Madrid have presented a complaint about Barcelona for repeated contact between Barcelona, the player and his people.
“Griezmann has a long contract and this cannot be permitted, while the club also considers it could affect the competition [La Liga] in which Barcelona are currently top and Atletico are second.”
The tale will sound familiar to Liverpool fans - with Barca accused of similar tactics when trying to sign Philippe Coutinho last summer.
There is no doubt the approaches seriously disrupted the player and the Brazilian missed the start of the season, even though Jurgen Klopp claimed he had a back problem.
Meanwhile Griezmann’s form has been questioned by some quarters in the Wanda Metropolitano support this season, particularly during the Madrid derby at the ground where he was booed.
Barcelona are yet to comment on the allegations, and if they were found guilty by Fifa it would be their second transfer ban in the last five years.
Griezmann has been in hot water on social media in the last couple of days after being accused of blacking up to dress as an American basketball player.
Meanwhile his boss Simeone said recently: "Of course Griezmann will be able to leave at some point, the same way (Diego) Costa and Arda Turan were allowed to leave.
"I love my players a lot and I love to see them grow. I am not ungrateful.
"If a player comes to me and says: 'coach, I have a once in a lifetime chance to play for a certain team, I want to leave.'
"If he did all he could for me as Griezmann does, I'll say it's no problem. I know that he needs to grow.
"Of course Griezmann will be able to leave at some point, the same way Costa and Arda Turan were allowed to leave."