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What's the story?
La Liga president Javier Tebas has revealed that Atletico Madrid demanded a ban on their former star Antoine Griezmann following his big move to La Liga champions Barcelona, as they believe that the methods used for the transfer were irregular.
Tebas further claimed that the Madrid outfit had requested the league authorities to block the Frenchman’s player license.
In case you didn't know...
Griezmann finally completed his big move to Barcelona after his €120 million release clause was triggered earlier this month. The decision comes a year after the forward snubbed the Catalan giants in a highly talked-about documentary called 'La Decision' which infuriated the club's supporters and some of its players and staff.
Like last year, the World Cup winner's transfer saga with the reigning Spanish champions has been shrouded in controversy.
A few weeks before his signing, Atletico Madrid accused Barcelona of holding secret negotiations with Griezmann back in March, when his buy-out clause was still €200 million. The forward's release value decreased to €120 million at the start of July.
The club emphasised that the Blaugrana had disrespected them by breaking the transfer protocol and subsequently raised an official complaint to the Spanish federation (RFEF) after the official announcement was made.
They argue that Barcelona should have paid €200 million as they reached an agreement with Griezmann before the drop in the player's original buy-out clause.
The heart of the matter
Tebas has now revealed that Atletico Madrid went further and requested the league authorities to ban Griezmann by blocking his player license.
In an interview with Onda Cero he said, "Atletico have written to us and have asked if we should give the license to Griezmann’s Barcelona. On the part of La Liga, we do have the ability to block a player’s chip."
"There is a mechanism that has been put in place and it will be the bodies that must resolve the situation. I have no elements of judgment to state what can happen."
What's next?
Griezmann made his debut with Barcelona in a friendly against Chelsea at the Saitama Stadium in Japan earlier this week in a game that saw the Spanish titans lose to the Europa League winners.
The Blaugrana are next scheduled to face Vissel Kobe in another friendly on Saturday.
