He’s reached two World Cup Finals (winning the game’s ultimate prize in 2018) and a European Championship final with France, while he’s also won the Europa League and reached a Champions League final with Atlético Madrid (in addition to a Copa del Rey with Barcelona). And though he hasn’t yet been able to add a league title to his resume, Antoine Griezmann has nevertheless established himself as one of the greatest players in LaLiga’s modern history.
At 34 years of age, Antoine Griezmann has racked
up a world-class footballing CV. But are we entering the final months of the Griezmann era at Atlético Madrid?
Born in Mâcon, France, Griezmann departed for Spain in 2005 and joined Real Sociedad’s academy, where he eventually ascended to the first-team and established himself as a key figure in attack. In the summer of 2010, Griezmann helped Real Sociedad win the Segunda title before returning to his homeland and helping France win the 2010 U-19 Euros, alongside the likes of Alexandre Lacazette and Chris Mavinga.
“Griezmann had some difficult moments in France, he was very small and was caught lacking against more physical, athletic players, and he had a tough time finding a club,” Mavinga told Into the Calderón in an exclusive interview. “He went to Spain and started to play for Real Sociedad…amongst our France U19 teammates, he was one of the first to start playing at the senior level, but nobody knew him because he was playing in Spain, whereas all of us were playing in France. Nobody knew him when he came into the group, and I was playing left-back at the time whereas he was a left winger.”
This trophy set the stage for an immaculate playing career, with Griezmann scoring 52 goals and 18 assists in 202 appearances before departing the Basque Country in 2014 and making the move to the Spanish capital. Griezmann helped fill Diego Costa’s void and established himself as Atleti’s new attacking talisman, finishing third in the Ballon d’Or race in 2016 and 2018 while being named the Best Player in LaLiga in 2016.
Though he struggled to convince after making the move to Barcelona in 2019, Griezmann nevertheless found forgiveness among many Atleti supporters forgive him since returning to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano in 2021; he became the club’s all-time top scorer on Jan. 10, 2024.
“I remember it being so easy to find him on the pitch..I was like, “Oh, this guy is good,’” Mavinga recalled. “Even when I had the ball, I saw something different with him; he was always coming inside to give me a passing option, his body language was always sharp, he was always playing forward, never back…I really enjoyed playing with him. To see him now, 15 years later, playing in the Champions League, he’s still got the same quality. I’m very happy for him.”
Yet it’s also fair to say that Griezmann’s prime is in the rearview mirror.
Griezmann, who retired from international duty last summer, no longer has any World Cups or European Championships to take part in, and he might not have too many more LaLiga or Champions League seasons either.
As he approaches 35 years of age, Griezmann is having to adjust to a benchwarmer role for the first time in his storied Atlético career. He came off the bench in Atleti’s first three matches of the 2025/26 season before playing the full 90 minutes in a 2-0 win vs. Villarreal, as well as an hour in a 3-2 loss to Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League. However, Diego Simeone relegated him to the bench for the following match at Mallorca, with Julián Alvarez partnering new signing Giacomo Raspadori up top. He hasn’t made a goal contribution since the FIFA Club World Cup in June, and — incredibly — he also hasn’t found the back of the net in league play since Feb. 1.
It seems that Griezmann’s playing time will be further reduced once summer arrivals Thiago Almada and Álex Baena return to health, while Nicolás Gonzalez, another new addition, is already a starter despite joining Atleti from Juventus three weeks ago. But despite being linked with a move to Los Angeles FC, Griezmann elected to remain in Spain this summer. In June, he extended his contract through 2027; LAFC ended up signing Heung-min Son from Tottenham Hotspur instead.
Capable of threading together attacks with a delightful through ball, firing a long-distance shot with venom, and twisting and turning past an array of opponents, Griezmann has proven that he has every tool in his locker. It’s why pundits like Martin Tyler and Jeyhan Bhindi have dubbed him one of the best players of the 21st century, and why he has staked his claim in Atleti folklore as a club legend. Griezmann is the club’s all-time leading scorer with 198 goals and 93 assists across 451 appearances; if he plays against Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday night, he will move within five appearances of surpassing Carlos Aguilera as the seventh-most capped Atleti player ever.
However, if he continues to struggle for regular minutes, it may only be a matter of time before Griezmann decides to call it quits on his legendary chapter in Madrid and packs his bags for the United States.
