Barcelona risk transfer ban over Antoine Griezmann pursuit

There has long been speculation that Griezmann would leave, and he was rumoured to be on the cusp of joining Manchester United last summer.

However, he elected to stay as Atletico were hit with their own transfer ban.

Barcelona are the latest club to be interested, and there are stories that a £100m deal has been agreed to take the Frenchman to Barcelona.

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu said of the transfer: "I haven't spoken to him this year, but with his agent in October."

There is a potential problem for Barcelona as Fifa's regulations state:

"A professional shall only be free to conclude a contract with another club if his contract with his present club has expired or is due to expire within six months.

"Any breach of this provision shall be subject to appropriate sanctions."

If Barcelona were reported and found guilty of the transgression, then Barcelona could face a transfer ban of between one and two and a half years, and Griezmann could be banned for six months.

While Barcelona may be concerned over a possible ban, clubs often come to financial agreement between themselves to avoid reporting the matter to regulators.