Atletico Madrid report Barcelona to FIFA for tapping up attacking star

What's the story?

La Liga side Atletico Madrid have filed a complaint against rivals Barcelona over an illegal transfer approach for Antoine Griezmann.

The Diego Simeone-managed side believe that Barcelona have made illegal approaches for their French star Griezmann and are prepared to take action against the Catalan club if the reports are to be believed.

"The complaint has been presented for repeated contact between Barcelona, the player and his team. He is a player under a long contract and this can't happen.

"Moreover, the club considers that it could affect the competition where Barca are currently top and Atletico second." - Atletico source

In case you didn't know...

Griezmann, who joined Atletico Madrid from Real Sociedad for a fee of €30 million in 2014, has been arguably the most important player at the club since his arrival. The 26-year-old's performances for the Rojiblancos have attracted interest from various clubs from Europe.

Premier League side Manchester United were heavily linked with the former Real Sociedad player in the summer, but the Red Devils were not able to land Griezmann due to Atletico Madrid not being able to sign a replacement because of a transfer ban.

However, several reports have emerged that Barcelona have overtaken all other suitors in the race to sign the French international.

Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo had recently claimed that Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu met with Griezmann's family to make the signing of the player easier.

The heart of the matter

While it remains unknown if Bartomeu has actually met with the player's family, Atletico Madrid are said to be unhappy about their rivals' approach for Griezmann. Now, the club officials are set to approach FIFA to file a complaint against Barcelona over illegal approaches for their player.

Antoine Griezmann: Has been directly involved in 16 (13 goals, 3 assists) of the last 32 Champions League goals Atletico Madrid have scored pic.twitter.com/3W4MwlzGlX

— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) September 27, 2017

This news has gained more attention after one of the Barcelona directors, Guillermo Amor, admitted that the club has been in contact with people related to the player.

Video: The best of Griezmann

Author's take

If Bartomeu has approached Griezmann's family like the papers say, then it definitely comes under the category of tapping up and Barcelona could face punishments for that. The Catalan club could even be handed a transfer ban if FIFA decides to take action.

However, all these could be just rumours and we could never be sure of something happening unless there is an official announcement. We could still see Griezmann ending up at Barcelona in the next summer transfer window.