Antoine Griezmann, who joined Barcelona at the start of the season, has fallen out of favour since the return of Luis Suarez from a knee injury. The Frenchman has endured a difficult first season at the Catalan club and is yet to establish himself as a regular starter. Former French international Christophe Dugarry believes that Griezmann’s struggles are due to the lack of harmony between him and Lionel Messi and made controversial comments while proposing a solution. Antoine Griezmann’s Family Slam Barcelona Manager on Quique Setien For the Treatment Given to Him at the Club.

Doubts were raised about Griezmann’s importance at Barcelona when he was given just four minutes against Atletico Madrid, a game which Quique Setien’s men needed to win to keep title hopes alive, but failed to do so. And during the post-match coverage with RMC Sport, Dugarry slammed Lionel Messi and Barcelona for the 29-year-old’s continued struggles at the club. Lionel Messi Scores 700th Career Goal During Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid 2–2 La Liga 2019–20 Draw.

‘He [Griezmann] has lost confidence, his performances are not good, It’s true that Lionel Messi could give him a few more passes, but frankly, it does not shock me. Griezmann loses the ball, he plays badly.’ Said the 1998 World Cup winner with France.

‘Griezmann can’t just go to Messi for them to solve their problems. Griezmann is afraid of who? Of a kid who’s 1.50 metres and half autistic? He just has to slap him in the face if there is a problem’ the former French international added.

RMC removed the part from their podcast but Dugarry has issued an apology for his comments. ‘I am sincerely sorry for the extent and the response to my comments on Lionel Messi,’ he posted on Twitter.

‘I did not want to stigmatise people with autism disorders, it was not my intention. I apologise to the people I offended and will do it again at 6 p.m. on [RMC’s show] Team Duga this evening.’ Dugarry added.

Antoine Griezmann joined Barcelona in the summer for a huge transfer fee but has struggled to link up with his attacking partners. The Frenchman is not the only big-money move who has failed to make an impact at Barcelona as Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele, have also found it difficult to nail down a starting spot in the team.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 02, 2020 06:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).