Barcelona Fined £265 Over Griezmann Approach When He Was At Atletico Madrid

Barcelona have been fined only 300 euros (£265) by the Spanish
Football Federation (RFEF) for their approach to Antoine Griezmann
while he was at La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid.

Spanish champions Barcelona signed Griezmann after paying his
120m-euro (£107m) buyout clause on 1 July.

But the federation said Barca broke its rules by negotiating
with Griezmann without Atletico’s permission.

Atletico believed his buyout clause should have been 200m euros
(£179m).

They claimed that Barca began talking to the player in March,
when that was the size of his buyout clause.

His cost then dropped to 120m euros at the start of July, which
was when he signed for Barca, but Atletico claimed the “commitment
of the player and Barcelona was closed” prior to the clause
reducing.

The player was absolved of any responsibility by the
federation.

The RFEF’s statement read: “Taking into account the economic
capacity of the club and the amount of the fine, this committee is
aware that the payment of 300 euros, beyond its merely symbolic
character, will not damage the sanctioned club and, probably, will
not persuade other clubs in the same situation in the future to
adjust their conduct to the regulations.”

However, the RFEF determined that was “not a sufficient reason”
to impose a one-match closure of the Nou Camp – its only other
possible sanction – which it says is reserved for “infractions of a
different nature”.

Griezmann – who had announced in May he would leave the Madrid
side – signed a five-year deal with Barca, which includes an 800m
euro (£717m) release clause, to become the world’s sixth most
expensive signing.

Following the move, Atletico released a statement in which they
expressed their “strongest repulsion for the behaviour of both,
especially Barcelona”.

The Madrid club previously reported Barcelona to Fifa over an
alleged illegal approach for Griezmann in December 2017.

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