KEY POINTS

  • Incident happened when Griezmann was leaving Barcelona’s training facilities
  • There has been confusion over Griezmann's position in the club
  • He has played nine games so far this season

A bunch of FC Barcelona fans surrounded Antoine Griezmann’s car Thursday and demanded the forward to show "respect" to his club captain Lionel Messi.

The incident took place when Griezmann was leaving Barcelona’s training facilities and the video was shared by Spanish media firm GOL on Twitter. It happened a day after the club’s presidential hopeful Victor Font made comments to Cadena Cope Wednesday night, saying, "Griezmann was a signing that shouldn’t have been made."

Following Font’s comments, another Spanish publication Cadena Cope had claimed that Griezmann was hurt by those comments and also repeated that he shared a strong relationship with Messi and had been confused by media reports to the contrary.

It was reported last week that Griezmann’s former representative Eric Olhats aggravated the situation further by saying, "Antoine arrived at a club with serious problems where Messi controls everything. He is both emperor and monarch and did not see Antoine’s arrival with good eyes. Messi’s attitude has been deplorable, he has made him feel it. I’ve always heard Antoine say that he had no problems with Messi, but never the other way around. It is the regime of terror. Either you are with him, or you are against him."

Ahead of the 2020-21 season, Barcelona news had been dominated by Messi’s push for an exit, while his future at Camp Nou beyond the ongoing campaign is still unclear. He recently vented his frustration to reporters, saying, "I’m tired of always being the problem for everything at the club."

Antoine Griezmann celebrates with Lionel Messi after scoring a sensational chip against Villarreal on Sunday.
Antoine Griezmann with Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba AFP / JOSE JORDAN

Even though Griezmann has started in eight out of the nine matches he has played for Barcelona this season, Ronald Koeman is still confused about what the best position can be for the Frenchman in the team and there are questions over whether he should be a regular starter going forward. In the France national team, Griezmann plays through the middle and is at the center of attacking moves, while he is often played on the fringe for the Catalans to help accommodate Messi.