Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann has stated that it is ‘difficult’ not to have a La Liga title to his name, even if he is the top scorer in the history of the club. The French forward moved to Atletico the summer after they won the title for the first time under Diego Simeone in 2014, and Los Rojiblancos would again lift the trophy during the first year that he moved away to Barcelona.
“A dream, and an objective, is to win La Liga and the Champions League. I have never won La Liga and I may be the club’s record goalscorer but not having won the league is difficult. The Champions League, for everyone, would be a dream.”
During an interview with La Liga, Griezmann recounted what it was like watching his former teammates lift the title in 2021, when he had moved to Barcelona.
“It was very difficult, because we were also close to winning it. I think we lost against Granada at home and that killed us a little mentally. But at the same time I was very happy because they deserved it, and for Koke, for Cholo, who mean a lot to me. Koke is one of the best friends I have and I was very happy for him. When I saw the video with all his family and friends at home with the cup, I was laughing a lot. I was so happy and proud of him.”
What does the #AtleticoMadrid badge mean?
"Good question. I would say 'everything' but there is also the Real Sociedad badge, that club gave me the chance to be a professional. So, it’s 50/50 between Real Sociedad and Atleti. I owe them a lot. I know that I am here thanks to… pic.twitter.com/Or2kePAh3N
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He was also asked about the best partnership he had enjoyed up front during his time at Atletico Madrid. While he had words of praise for current teammates Alvaro Morata and Memphis Depay, his answer was somewhat surprising.
“I have been lucky to have very good forwards alongside me. It’s difficult to be a number 9 here at Atletico, it’s a lot of work and it’s not just about scoring goals. You have to work and tire yourself out running. In the end you have to put the ball in the net, and that is the most difficult thing, but it is true that Alvaro is at a very top level. We are very happy with him and what he does.”
🚨 BREAKING: Atlético Madrid is starting to work slowly on a forward for the next transfer window. He is a forward from a ‘top’ team.
[🥇: @rubenuria via @Objetivoatleti] pic.twitter.com/vxS0kPT0eS
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“The person I got along best with was Kevin Gameiro. It was very easy to play with him because we had that connection: he knew what I was going to do, I knew what he was going to do. Then, even though we’ve only been together for a short time, with Memphis Depay – who I played with at Barcelona too. We both really like to play with our feet and make short runs. Then with Alvarito [Morata] we’ve been getting to know each other better, and I’m able to help him score some goals too.”
Griezmann will be hoping one of Morata or Memphis can help fire Los Rojiblancos to the Champions League this season, with La Liga well out of reach at this point. The Frenchman has a just claim to being the best player in Spain since the Qatar World Cup, but Atletico have struggled for consistency throughout that spell.
Watch Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona this Sunday 17th March, with coverage starting from 7:30pm GMT on Viaplay Sports 1 and ITV4.
