Griezmann and Atlético — a story of love, betrayal, and finding your way home again

MADRID, SPAIN - APRIL 13: Antoine Griezmann of Atletico celebrates his team's first goal with team mate Gabi during the UEFA Champions league Quarter Final Second Leg match between Club Atletico de Madrid and FC Barcelona at Vincente Calderon on April 13, 2016 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Alex Grimm/

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What is the story about?

We all knew this was coming, but it doesn’t make it any easier.

Antoine Griezmann announced Tuesday that he will leave Atlético de Madrid in July to join MLS side Orlando City. After years of flirtation with moving to the United States, the saga is over, and the French superstar will be closing the book on his European career to start a new chapter in Major League Soccer.

It’s no secret that Griezmann loves American culture. After he won

the World Cup in 2018, he shouted out former NBA MVP Derrick Rose in an enduring post-match interview. He has a Spanish-language NFL podcast, “Grizi Huddle,” and has become friends with Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodríguez. He’s thrown passes to San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle and attended Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.

This has always been Griezmann’s destiny. But in the beginning, on July 28, 2014, we had no idea that we could come to know all this about a slight young winger who had come through the ranks in the Basque Country.

Two months after winning its first league title in 18 years, Atlético de Madrid announced that it had signed “young French talent” Griezmann from Real Sociedad for around €30 million, then a club-record signing. The club as we knew it then was different. Even after winning La Liga and reaching the Champions League final, Atlético had to retool a squad that had lost Radamel Falcao, Diego Costa and Filipe Luís in the previous year. Griezmann, who had played in the Champions League with La Real and impressed with France at the 2014 World Cup, was joining the Spanish champions at a decisive time.

In his debut 2014/15 season, Griezmann started off slowly. He did not score a league goal until November. But he rocketed forward that winter and had his first signature game for Atlético when he scored a sensational hat-trick at Athletic Club on Dec. 21, 2014. He was named La Liga Player of the Month in January, the first of seven such awards he would win. That is tied with Leo Messi for the most in league history.

When his debut season concluded, Griezmann had scored 22 goals in 37 games on his way to meriting selection in the Team of the Year at the LFP Awards. He also passed Karim Benzema for most goals scored by a French player in a single Spanish top-division campaign.

But he was just getting started.

Griezmann emerged as a global superstar in 2015/16, helping Atleti to 88 points (only good enough for third place in the league) and a second Champions League final in three years. Griezmann scored two goals against FC Barcelona in the Champions League quarterfinals to knock out the holders, and his crucial away goal when Atleti were being strangled at Bayern Munich was enough to see the Colchoneros into the Milan final (where he missed a penalty in normal time before Real Madrid won in a shootout). And after a stellar Euro 2016 campaign, Griezmann placed third in the Ballon d’Or ranking behind Messi and the winner Cristiano Ronaldo.

Much like we’re seeing now with Julián Alvarez, great success at Atlético sees Europe’s giants come calling. In the summer of 2017, Griezmann turned down the chance to play at Manchester United after Atleti were hit with a transfer ban. The start of the 2017/18 season was mostly forgettable, as Atlético were relegated to the Europa League after finishing third in a Champions League group with Chelsea, Roma and Qarabağ.

At the time, it seemed like a very unfortunate path the club and Griezmann were going down. However, Griezmann used this opportunity to showcase his ability — and Fortnite emote dances — against some of Europe’s giants, all the way to the Parc Olympique Lyonnais, where the club won its third Europa League title on May 16, 2018.

This iconic run through clubs like Sporting, Arsenal and Marseille — combined with France’s success at the 2018 World Cup — once again saw Griezmann finish third in the Ballon d’Or ranking, this time behind Ronaldo and the winner Luka Modrić.

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That summer, the noise was louder than ever surrounding Griezmann’s future. His transfer seemed a matter of “when,” not “if,” as then-Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu made Griezmann’s acquisition his pet project (sort of how Joan Laporta now has made it a priority to unsettle and sign Alvarez).

Griezmann seemed to embrace the drama and toyed with both Atlético and Barcelona fans. He went as far as to make a teaser video for his decision between staying with the club or making the jump to Barça, culminating in “La Decisión.” After confirming his intent to stay in a video shot at the Metropolitano, Griezmann signed a new contract. But the games didn’t end.

The lone bright spot of the 2018/19 season was the 4–2 win over Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup. The Champions League campaign ended in bitter fashion to Juventus, where Los Colchoneros surrendered a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 to old nemesis Ronaldo. Griezmann garnered ample criticism during the tie, as many speculated the Frenchman’s lack of effort and form was due to him having agreed to play the following season elsewhere.

Then, it happened. The unthinkable. Before that season’s final game at Levante, Griezmann announced that he was leaving after five seasons.

The news prompted shock. Feelings of betrayal. Anger. Even hatred. There are still some Atléticos who never forgave Griezmann for what he did, but he did it. Griezmann’s 2019 move to Catalonia produced a domino effect that can still be felt today: Atlético used the cash to sign João Félix from Benfica. João was used as a makeweight in the deal that brought Conor Gallagher to Atleti from Chelsea. When Gallagher was sold to Spurs in January, Mateu Alemany used the funds to sign Ademola Lookman.

Griezmann’s time at Barcelona was underwhelming, relative to his career at Atlético. The Frenchman was able to win a Copa del Rey there, and he tallied 22 league goals in two seasons. Griezmann was crucial for Barcelona in the 2021 Copa del Rey campaign, when he scored twice in the comeback win over Granada and in the final against Athletic.

While Griezmann’s time at Barcelona was not bad, there was something missing. The Frenchman was not nearly the same player he was for so many years at Atlético, and he would later admit that he probably should never have left. A small number of Atlético supporters, me being one of them, always would have welcomed him back, but it seemed impossible.

However, very late in the 2021 summer transfer window, the impossible became possible.

Albeit on loan, Griezmann was back, and he even made it a point to cut his hair to show the red and white supporters how sorry he was that he left. Griezmann’s return to the Metropolitano was not exactly warm, as he was met with ample whistles and boos that persisted for several weeks. He kept his head down, worked hard and eventually worked his way back into the good graces of the people who once loved him while a complicated contractual situation loomed in the background.

The agreement reached by Atlético de Madrid and FC Barcelona was for a one-year loan with an option to extend for a further year, renewable by either party. Atlético extended the loan following the 2021 season, but the club was steadfast in not paying the €40 million obligatory buy clause.

A key component of that agreement was how the buy clause would be triggered. If Griezmann played 45 minutes or more in 50 percent or more of the eligible league games, then Atlético would pay Barcelona €40m to sign him permanently. Given that Griezmann played more than 80 percent of the minutes in the 2021 season, Simeone was directed to be strategic with Griezmann’s minutes and only play him around 30 minutes a match. Thankfully, Barcelona caved and the clubs came to a compromised agreement for a €20 million permanent transfer.

Now off a minutes restriction and arguably happier than ever, Griezmann flourished in a monster 2022/23 season. He finished that season with 16 goals and 18 assists, leading the team in scoring and the entire league in assists. These performances with Atlético, combined with another great showing for France in the 2022 World Cup, saw Griezmann place 21st in the 2022 Ballon d’Or ranking.

The following season saw Griezmann become Atlético’s all-time leading scorer as he overtook Luis Aragonés with his 174th goal. Last year, his form faded badly in the second half of the season as Atleti’s title challenge ended in March. This year, he had to make do with a reserve role before he rounded into form in December. Since then, Diego Simeone has returned him to his “big game” lineup, and he is the team’s leading scorer in a Copa del Rey campaign that could be capped with an elusive title on April 18…against Real Sociedad, for whom it all began.

Griezmann will go down as one of the most underrated players of his generation. The Frenchman went toe-to-toe with all-time greats: Ronaldo, Messi, Benzema, Neymar and so many others. He was never far off such great competition.

But while those players have been awarded with all sorts of trophies and praise, Griezmann is lacking in that area, rather unfairly. As he closes the book on his European career, football owes Griezmann one last trophy or two. Hopefully, he will get just that opportunity in these final months wearing red and white. Now is his chance to bring lasting glory to himself and the club.

I owe a debt to Antoine Griezmann. He is a big reason why I picked Atleti as my lifelong club. Seeing him come on the scene in 2016, doing the hotline bling and Fortnite dances while scoring absolute bangers cemented my choice to support this football club. My very first football shirt was a 2016 “Griezmann 7” Atleti away shirt that I got on eBay. That picture at the beginning of the article was my phone background for months, if not years.

So if I’m lucky enough to have Antoine Griezmann read this: I just want to say thank you. Thank you for the goals. Thank you for the assists. Thank you for the celebrations. Thank you for coming back.

As we say “adios” to an all-time club legend, I hope this story has a fairy tale ending and I hope that this served as a fun walk down memory lane. What’s your favorite Antoine Griezmann memory or moment? Hopefully, in the coming weeks, we add another great memory or two. Maybe one that ends with Griezmann raising a trophy, possibly two, with the club he has given everything to.