Posted on November 21, 2021 at 1:30 p.m. by Th.B.
Having been able to rub shoulders with Antoine Griezmann during the two seasons during which he played for FC Barcelona in the meetings with the France team, Didier Deschamps admitted to having perceived a rather unhappy Griezmann.
Under the Josep Maria Bartomeu era, the FC Barcelona took expensive decisions in the market after Neymar left for PSG for 222M € in the summer of 2017. Ousmane Dembélé , Philippe Coutinho , Antoine Griezmann … Many have come to Barça to fill the void left by the departure of the star from PSG, and the vast majority in vain, except perhaps Dembélé who had a full season in the last year, although for the price of his transfer, he can also fall into the box of flops. For Antoine Griezmann , after snubbing FC Barcelona in 2018 with his documentary, The Decision, struggled to win the hearts of fans a year later when he dropped off his bags at Camp Nou. In the end, Griezmann never even won the affection of the Blaugrana public opinion. Although in his opinion, not everything was to be thrown in his time at FC Barcelona.
“I can't say he breathed happiness”
At least that's what the French world champion assured in an interview with Téléfoot on Sunday, defending his individual statistics by season. “Barça? It wasn't a disaster either, because I still have almost scored 20 goals every season. For me, it's a great pride to have played for Barcelona. I was very happy to go, amazing teammates. And I learned a lot from the coaches even though sometimes I didn't play and it was complicated at times. I think that there (editor's note at Atletico), they love me for who I am and for what I am, so it's perfect for everyone “.
However, apart from the numbers and his positioning, it is above all on the mental and emotional level that Antoine Griezmann would have suffered during his two seasons stint at FC Barcelona to which a loan to Atletico de Madrid ended the last offseason. Coach of the France team, Didier Deschamps admitted having worked with a Griezmann rather shot down at times. “At Barça? I can't say he breathed happiness. He was making the effort. Obviously, it is also a question of use, of post “.
Nevertheless, all this now belongs to history since Antoine Griezmann has found” his home “at the ' Atletico de Madrid this summer when his coach Diego Simeone is totally counting on him, as he stressed at a press conference this week. “Comparisons are never good. Antoine, in the past was younger, he has more years, more experience. He has come a long way in games for the national team and games with Barcelona, when he was asked to play, and little by little he is coming back to his best. We have him, the same way he played against Real Betis and Valencia, because he is the footballer that we went looking for, that the fans want and need.