Roundup: Atletico Madrid down Inter Milan, Jadon Sancho scores for Dortmund
Jan Oblak was the hero for Atletico Madrid as they beat Inter Milan on penalties to progress into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Antoine Griezmann is a French soccer player who currently plays as a forward for Atletico Madrid. The France international has played all his club football in Spain, with spells at Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid before joining Barca in the summer of 2019. He started out playing in a wide position but converted to a more central role after leaving Sociedad.
While a prolific goalscorer at Atletico, his numbers dropped off during his time with Barca, and in 2021, Griezmann rejoined Atletico on a loan deal with a compulsory option to buy. Now back with his former side, Griezmann will be hoping to revitalise his career as a goalscoring forward.
Griezmann moved to Barcelona from Atletico for $146m in July 2019 to end a protracted transfer saga. The Catalans wanted him the previous summer but he remained in Madrid for one more season. His decision to delay the move by 12 months angered Barca legend Lionel Messi, who had publicly pushed for the move to happen. There was said to be some animosity between the pair after he arrived but they apparently settled their differences. Controversies over the fee paid threatened to scupper the move but he made his Barcelona debut against Athletic Bilbao in August 2019.
He then scored twice on his home debut in a 5-2 victory over Real Betis and opened his Champions League account in November against Borussia Dortmund. However, the expected avalanche of goals failed to materialise and Griezmann scored 15 from 48 appearances in all competitions and just nine in La Liga.
He also struggled on the pitch in the early part of 2020/21, further angering the Catalan fans. Griezmann ended the season with 20 goals and 13 assists but left on deadline day to rejoin former side Atletico on loan amid Barcelona's financial difficulties.
Griezmann spent five seasons with Atletico after moving from Sociedad in the summer of 2014 for a fee thought to be in the region of £24million. It was at the Wanda Metropolitano that he really began turning heads, with 133 goals from 257 appearances in all competitions. He made his competitive debut in the first leg of the Supercopa de Espana, with Atleti lifting the trophy.
Further success followed when he scored twice in the final of the 2017/18 Europa League as Atletico beat Marseille 2-1. Griezmann was in the Atleti side that lost on penalties to fierce rivals Real Madrid in the final of the 2015/16 Champions League.
After seemingly etching his name in Atletico folklore by rejecting a move to Barca in 2018, he then angered the fans by leaving for Camp Nou 12 months later. It was the nature of the transfer that annoyed all at the Metropolitano, with the player agreeing to move to Barcelona before July 1 2019, significantly lowering his release clause. That was disputed by club officials but the fee they eventually received was £107million.
It certainly soured the Atletico fans' view of their former hero and a plaque erected for the striker outside the stadium was vandalised in protest. However, in 2021/22, Griezmann will look to rekindle his relationship with the Atletico faithful after he rejoined his former side on loan, with a compulsory option to make the deal permanant in 2022.
France boss Didier Deschamps handed Griezmann his debut in March 2014 and he scored his first goal against Paraguay in a World Cup warm-up match two months later. He was selected for Les Bleus' 2014 World Cup squad, with France eliminated in the quarter-finals.
Jan Oblak was the hero for Atletico Madrid as they beat Inter Milan on penalties to progress into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Atletico Madrid swiftly returned to training on Thursday following their Tuesday defeat in Milan against Inter, gearing up for their upcoming clash against Almeria on Saturday.
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Antoine Griezmann shed light on his future with Atletico de Madrid after their recent triumphant 2-0 victory over SS Lazio in the Champions League.