Gremio and Santos have already threatened Barca with court
The latest news about Griezmann and Barcelona is not the first time they have found themselves threatened with complaints and legal action over signings.
Atlético Madrid's complaint to FIFA over Barcelona's contact with Antoine Griezmann is not the first that the Catalan club will have to respond to should football's governing body request them to make statements on the issue. Two Brazilian clubs, Gremio and Santos, have threatened to bring Barcelona to court for speaking with the midfielders Arthur Henrique and Lucas Lima when they were still under contract with their respective clubs.
Arthur's case
Arthur's case is the most recent, on December 2nd, when the 21-year-old midfielder was photographed with André Cury, a Barcelona scout in Brazil along with Robert Férnandez, the sports director at the club. The legal director of Gremio, Nestor Hein, spoke on Radio Gaúcha when he saw the photo, and said: "This boy of great character, Arthur, is ours. In relation to this mess, he is not at fault. I was informed today that Barca wanted to eat with him and his family. Gremio can not stop him but Barca have a problem with Gremio involving the kid. We are writing a statement to Fifa over manipulation once the way they have acted has been confirmed."
Lucas Lima's case
During the summer, Barcelona looked into signing Lucas Lima and allegedly made illegal contact with the 27-year-old. The player said during a poker game that he would play for Barcelona in 2018. The left-sided midfielder's representatives denied that statement as he was not allowed to negotiate with clubs until July 1st 2017, six months before the players' contract was set to expire. If the agreement between Barcelona and Lima was real, Santos could complain to Fifa about contact with the player before it was allowed, which they have already reportedly threatened to do.
