Griezmann ‘at home’ with Atleti

Antoine Griezmann says he now feels at home with Atletico Madrid following his summer mover from Real Sociedad.

The French international, 23, believes he needed a boss like Diego Simeone to get the best out of him and confessed he never thought of leaving La Liga.

“Atleti are the Spanish champions and that’s the kind of club I needed. I also needed a Coach like Simeone in order to progress, so I’m at home here.

“His training sessions are very intense. That’s my style and I like that,” maintained Griezmann in an interview with France Football.

The striker said he feels comfortable in Spain and acknowledged he chose Los Rojiblancos because “they were prepared to pay €30m to sign me”.

“I spoke to the President on the phone and he really inspired me, telling me the club genuinely wanted me. I knew that by coming to Atletico I was going to learn.”

Griezmann revealed he also received a call from Atleti skipper Gabi, who told him he’d fit in well at the Vicente Calderon and that the dressing room was very friendly.

“At Real Sociedad I played more on the right but now I’ve got more of a central role, although I need to learn how to make my opponents commit themselves more.

“That’s what the boss is asking of me but I’m not standing still. I’ll do it and when I’m in the team I won’t let the chance escape me,” he declared, before admitting his arrival at Atletico was more straightforward than when he joined La Real as a youngster.

“It was very hard and I spent many nights crying. I missed my family back then.”

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