Atletico Madrid hit out at Barcelona’s pursuit of Griezmann

 

Atletico Madrid have released a statement condemning Barcelona’s relentless pursuit of star forward Antoine Griezmann.

 

Barcelona have been heavily linked with a move for Griezmann all season and are expected to sign the France international this summer.

 

It emerged on Tuesday that Barcelona have informed Atletico of their intentions to trigger Griezmann’s €100m release clause, but Diego Simone’s side have refuted those suggestions.

 

“We are fed up with the attitude of Barcelona. That a president, a player and a manager of the same club talk the way they do about the future of a player with a contract in force and a few days of playing a European competition seems to me an absolute lack of respect for Atletico Madrid and towards all its fans,” CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin told the club’s official website.

 

“The position of Atletico Madrid in this regard is very clear and has been made public on numerous occasions. At no time have we negotiated for Griezmann and we have no intention of doing so. Personally, I told the president of Barcelona a few months ago that the player’s rights are neither for sale nor will we sell them.

 

“I also made him see that his inappropriate behaviour was contrary to the integrity of the competition, since during the season we have been competing for the league title and Barcelona has been permanently pressuring one of the most relevant players of our team.”

 

Atletico Madrid hit out at Barcelona’s pursuit of Griezmann

 

Griezmann came close to joining Manchester United last summer before signing a bumper new deal with Atletico in the wake of FIFA’s decision to hit the club with a transfer ban.

 

The 27-year-old struggled to rediscover his best form at the start of the campaign but has burst into life since the turn of the year, helping Atletico through to the Europa League final.

 

Griezmann has scored 19 goals and provided eight assists in 30 league matches so far this season.

 

In fact, only Cristiano Ronaldo (21) and Lionel Messi (18) have scored more goals than Griezmann (14) in Europe’s top five leagues in 2018.