In 2014, Atlético Madrid paid about €30 million for a small French player from Real Sociedad. He was a much-touted prospect and the perfect David Villa replacement who was headed to the United States. Since then, this young striker’s profile has grown considerably on the international scene, which has led to a shift in his perspective towards Atlético, the team that helped him become a star. The season he missed a penalty in the Champions League final, 2015–16, also happened to be his greatest season wearing red and white. Transfer rumors concerning the future of Atletico’s #7,
who was frequently connected to the greatest teams on the continent, have plagued the team’s supporters ever since that historic moment. For a great player, this is very standard procedure, Atlético fans have been inundated with about the future of their #7, who was constantly linked to the continent’s biggest clubs. This is fairly standard procedure for a great player, but Antoine Griezmann never challenged these rumors and committed to Atlético only when it suited him,
With Antoine’s departure from Barcelona rumours rife last summer, it looked all but certain. Rather than immediately declaring that he would stay in Madrid, he waited until the middle of the summer to create a cheesy documentary that finally said he would stay. Less than a year later, Griezmann has effectively submitted a transfer request. In retrospect, Griezmann’s tears during Diego Godín’s goodbye speech pretty much capture his tenure at Atleti: he put on a huge show to win over the supporters, but he never truly loved the club and frequently vanished when it counted most.
Last year, amid the persistent Barcelona whispers, Griezmann was whistled at the Wanda Metropolitano in a 2-2 draw against Eibar. This only stopped once Godín went over to the fans to tell them Griezmann would stay. Griezmann could not handle being booed by those who were incensed that he would possibly join the club’s main title rival. In a vacuum, this represented exactly what Griezmann is all about — nothing is his fault, so how could the fans blame him? How could the world be outraged when he came out in full-body makeup to portray himself as a black basketball player?
