Antoine Griezmann Signs For FC Barcelona

[Harry]

34 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

Could do and it all depends on where it all goes. I can guarantee you that the only reason Atleti are upset with Barcelona is because they didn't include the Semedo deal in all of this. Barcelona hadn't thought about negotiating anything with Atlei and were simply going to pay the realease-clause after the 1st of July. It was Atlético Madrid who called Barça to see if a deal could be made. When Barça witnessed the deal Atleti wanted to make, Barcelona said no. Atleti after the João Félix signing had to get the money for Griezmann and they no longer wanted the France international. They are furious at Antoine more than anything because of how it was all done.

Most of what is thrown at Barcelona in how they do transfer deals is how everyone does it. The only untoward thing done in my personal opinion was the Cesc situation back in the day but even then that was off the players back on those that done it and nothing the club forced the footballers to do. Those players that did that should be ashamed of themselves.

I just find it very hypocritical from Atleti in all of this considering how they acquired Griezmann themselves. Also to prove the Semedo issue is what's burning Atleti is that not a sound was made from them in how Manchester City took the one player via a release-clause they didn't want to lose this summer.

It sounds like they felt a cut price deal for semedo should have been on the table given their perspective of losing 80m on the buyout clause feeling like they've been screwed by a Barca deal.

In other words whilst semedo was a point of discussion as to something that may settle their grievance amicably it maybe really came down to feeling they were owed one, and Barca's valuation that they'd swap him and 20m for Griezmann was effectively a rebuke of that notion. 

Hence the specific point of dispute remaining to be settled in the courts...

[Dr. Gonzo]

1 minute ago, SirBalon said:

Mate, Suárez already tried to pull one off when Arsenal done that £50m and 1p. They’re both players that seemed to want to leave and then obviously when a club the size of Barcelona come knocking the rest is history. It’s the same as when Real Madrid show serious interest.

Put it this way, if Liverpool were to go for a Valencia player now, I’ll bet you anything the footballer will try anything to get the move. It doesn’t mean Liverpool are telling the footballer to do those things.

An example is Neymar wanting to go on strike to get his Barca move now. Barcelona have explicitly told him NOT to do that if he wants any chance of returning to the Camp Nou.

We all look at things from our own perspective depending on where out allegiances lie. Nobody like to lose a top player.

Do you think Cesc asked those twats to pull that shirt on him?

It’s a common theme though going back to Mascherano. A player loses all sense of professionalism if Barca comes in for them. Then they refuse to train, refuse to play.

And look how many clubs have complained about how Barca do business. Basically anyone that does business with them. They managed to piss us off so much we had to come up with a way to get Barca to fuck off for three years. And even still their cunt ex-players still do their typical shite once the window opens “hE sHoUlD jOiN bArCa” - fuck off Eto’o we just won the CL, drink a glass of bleach.

Even PSG are pissed off at Barca for the way they’re going about the Neymar transfer, because they’re alleging 0 contact whatsoever between clubs, but the player is clearly in contact with the club and beginning his protest. And they’re plastic PSG.

There’s no smoke without fire. These clubs wouldn’t all hate Barca if Barca didn’t act like this

[SirBalon]

1 minute ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

And even still their cunt ex-players still do their typical shite once the window opens “hE sHoUlD jOiN bArCa” - fuck off Eto’o we just won the CL, drink a glass of bleach.

[Dr. Gonzo]

1 minute ago, SirBalon said:

On the topic of Eto’o, back when Barca were more likable and Ronaldinho was with them... apparently Ronaldinho and Eto’o hated each other and Eto’o hated Ronaldinho, basically just for being better than him. What a weird guy.

[Harry]

2 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

On the topic of Eto’o, back when Barca were more likable and Ronaldinho was with them... apparently Ronaldinho and Eto’o hated each other and Eto’o hated Ronaldinho, basically just for being better than him. What a weird guy.

I loved that Barcelona side. So much less polarising. Ronaldinhos gigantic smile set the tone for my perceptions of them.

[SirBalon]

45 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

On the topic of Eto’o, back when Barca were more likable and Ronaldinho was with them... apparently Ronaldinho and Eto’o hated each other and Eto’o hated Ronaldinho, basically just for being better than him. What a weird guy.

That’s a story in itself. Not just the Eto’o/Ronaldinho relationship but Eto’o himself as a character. He also seemed to envy Messi and would bully him in training (this before Messi broke into the first team under Rijkaard)... Hence why both Ronaldinho and Deco took Messi under their wing.

Samuel Eto’o always felt under appreciated at the club although the polarising part to his personality would also see him display honest heartfelt sentiments towards the players he seemed to envy.

I remember an anecdote from a Real Mallorca player where he said had it not been for Luis Aragonés (the “racist” coach at the time at Mallorca) who housed him, stopped him from getting psychological help and said that he would fix his problems Samuel wouldn’t have been with us today as he was showing signs of being suicidal. That shows us a harsh but important reality in terms of a lesson learned that sometimes accusations thrown at people are far from the truth and that there’s deeper significance in people’s actions.

[SirBalon]

Let me add one more thing that might interest some. Messi’s typical celebration when scoring a goal where he points two index fingers up to the skies. If we go back in time when Ronaldinho was plying his trade at Barça, he would do the same and that was one of his trademark celebrations. Due to the relationship both Ronaldinho and Messi had, Messi took it on board to celebrate in the same manner, something he continues to do to this day.

The story behind that celebration is that Ronaldinho would do that to dedicate his goals to his grandmother who had brought him up. When Ronaldinho took Messi under his wing he apparently told Messi that his grandmother would see that he would one day be the best player in the world.

So in effect Messi’s goal celebrations are always a mark of respect and thanks to Ronaldinho’s grandmother.

[SirBalon]

Yesterday the signing of Antoine Griezmann for FC Barcelona was presented to the club at the Camp Nou. Here are the images of the signing...

 

[Stan]

Anyone else really annoyed by his shit haircut  

[SirBalon]

31 minutes ago, Stan said:

Anyone else really annoyed by his shit haircut  

If anything, it's not actually a haircut at all and has just let it grow out like some sort of surfer boy. 

[El Profesor]

One underrated aspect of this sigining is the fact Dembélé now has something to relate. Yes, Todibo, Lenglet and Umtiti are also french, but they are all defenders.

Due to his age and to his french origins, he doesn´t really have much in common to Messi and Suárez. 

[Stan]

15 minutes ago, El Profesor said:

One underrated aspect of this sigining is the fact Dembélé now has something to relate. Yes, Todibo, Lenglet and Umtiti are also french, but they are all defenders.

Due to his age and to his french origins, he doesn´t really have much in common to Messi and Suárez. 

Could this now mean Dembele doesn't play as much though?

If Coutinho stays, there's 4 attackers/attacking players ahead of him now. 

[SirBalon]

Someone has to leave right now with the arrival of Griezmann and if Neymar were to hypothetically arrive, then essily two would have to leave. It's unsustainable.

[Stan]

33 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

If anything, it's not actually a haircut at all and has just let it grow out like some sort of surfer boy. 

He looks like a tramp that's won a stadium tour at Camp Nou and spend a day there  

[SirBalon]

2 minutes ago, Stan said:

He looks like a tramp that's won a stadium tour at Camp Nou and spend a day there  

Don't upset Grizzy! 

[CaaC (John)+]

 

[SirBalon]

That nutmeg he is victim of is sublime. 

[El Profesor]

4 hours ago, Stan said:

Could this now mean Dembele doesn't play as much though?

If Coutinho stays, there's 4 attackers/attacking players ahead of him now. 

Coutinho is almost certainly going to leave.

I´m not sure about the Neymar transfer, but if it goes through, then Dembélé probably would leave. 

[Mel81x+]

Why does that first kit look like someone really liked Croatia and wanted their design? Anyways. They'll offload Coutinho to PSG soon enough but I was reading on my phone that Barcelona are definitely going to bring Neymar over now and whilst it was from a newspaper versus a football news outlet I think they will and foot a move for the young Frenchman to another club and we're going to see it happen really soon.

[SirBalon]

49 minutes ago, Mel81x said:

Why does that first kit look like someone really liked Croatia and wanted their design? Anyways. They'll offload Coutinho to PSG soon enough but I was reading on my phone that Barcelona are definitely going to bring Neymar over now and whilst it was from a newspaper versus a football news outlet I think they will and foot a move for the young Frenchman to another club and we're going to see it happen really soon.

I’d be very surprised if Neymar ends up at Barça this season. It doesn’t belong on this thread because we already have the Neymar saga in the transfer one. 

But Barcelona have already invested heavily in both de Jong from Ajax and Griezmann from Atleti... They would exceed their permitted amounts via FFP to stretch themselves with Neymar. Unless PSG accept player swaps plus some money, then I can’t see this happening. Plus the last place Paris Saint-Germain would want to see Neymar end up at is Barcelona.

[Mel81x+]

20 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

I’d be very surprised if Neymar ends up at Barça this season. It doesn’t belong on this thread because we already have the Neymar saga in the transfer one. 

But Barcelona have already invested heavily in both de Jong from Ajax and Griezmann from Atleti... They would exceed their permitted amounts via FFP to stretch themselves with Neymar. Unless PSG accept player swaps plus some money, then I can’t see this happening. Plus the last place Paris Saint-Germain would want to see Neymar end up at is Barcelona.

Sorry for asking this as I'd rather have some conversation about it versus do some Google searching but does Spain not have an imposition for players of origin from the same country like the Premier League does in England? Seems to me like they've got a lot of non-Spanish players across the board in their teams and first-team players too.

[SirBalon]

13 minutes ago, Mel81x said:

Sorry for asking this as I'd rather have some conversation about it versus do some Google searching but does Spain not have an imposition for players of origin from the same country like the Premier League does in England? Seems to me like they've got a lot of non-Spanish players across the board in their teams and first-team players too.

There’s no rule at the moment for imposing a certain amount of national footballers in Spanish football but I can see it happening because even though in Spain (in general) the favoured acquisition is still a national footballer, there is a growing trend towards the opposite.

Spain were the first nation in football back in the late 50s to start bringing in foreign footballers from Eastern Europe and especially Latin America. They’ve always managed to mix it accordingly without hampering the national product but in the past two years there is a slight swing to the opposite.

[RandoEFC+]

Hope Messi tells him to stop being a stupid cunt the first time he does that stupid fortnite celebration.

[CaaC (John)+]

Antoine Griezmann: La Liga could block Barcelona move from Atletico Madrid

Antoine Griezmann's move to Barcelona could be blocked in a row over the fee, La Liga president Javier Tebas says.

Atletico Madrid complained after Barca announced they had signed France forward, having activated his 120m euro (£107m) release clause on 12 July.

The clause dropped from 200m to 120m euros on 1 July, but Atleti claims the deal was done before then and that they are due the larger amount.

"It is possible to block a player's transfer," Tebas told Onda Cero.

"La Liga will have to decide what course of action to take."

Griezmann has already played a friendly for his new club, a 2-1 friendly defeat by Chelsea in Japan.

Tebas said: "[Atletico] submitted a complaint and put in doubt whether we should pass Griezmann's licence to Barcelona.

"There's a process that has been put in motion and those overseeing it will have to come to resolve the case."

Atletico reported Barcelona to Fifa over an alleged illegal approach for Griezmann in December 2017.

The player rejected an offer from Barcelona last summer. But Atletico claim Barca talked to him again in March and accused the Spanish champions of disrespect.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49100040

[Stan]

Eh? He's already made the transfer.

What will they do? Order him to move back to Atletico? Unlikely. I'm guessing they'll whack a hefty fine on Barca if they're found to have done any wrong-doing.