Antoine Griezmann deletes blackface picture on Twitter after being accused of racism

The Atletico Madrid striker was dressed up as an NBA basketball player

Griezmann's photo has caused real controversy on social media (Getty)

Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann has caused outrage on social media after posting a photograph of himself blackface as part of a fancy dress costume.

The Manchester United target, who came close to joining the Old Trafford club in the summer before having a change of heart, posted the photo on his Twitter account, with the caption “80s Party” with a basketball emoji and a laughing emoji.

He was dressing up as an NBA allstar basketball player.

The responses were mostly negative with many of his followers urging the striker to remove the photo immediately and delete the post.

Griezmann posted a follow-up tweet telling people not to over-react to the picture, saying: “Calm down guys, I’m a fan of the Harlem globetrotters and the good times… It’s a tribute.”

The 26-year-old soon deleted the picture and issued another tweet to apologise to anyone who was offended by it, adding that he understands "it was wrong" to do so.

The incident comes fewer than 48 hours after a man at the Darts World Championship was pictured dressed up as Labour MP Diane Abbott, with a bookmakers tweeting out the blackface image on Saturday.

There were also fans of Manchester United responding by saying they don’t want the player anywhere near the club, despite being voted the third best player in the world last year.

Griezmann is expected to leave Atletico Madrid in the summer with The Independent understanding that Barcelona are thought to be winning the race for his signature.