Antoine Griezmann dreams of winning the Champions League with Atlético de Madrid 10 years after joining the Club from Real Sociedad.
It was the French international who scored the first goal in Atleti’s epic victory over Serie A leaders Inter on Wednesday and, ahead of Friday’s draw, he opened up about copying David Beckham, on his difficult return to the club after leaving for Barcelona, to become the Atlético player. top scorer of all time and with the ambition of finally winning the club’s first European Cup.
“At that time I didn’t think much about breaking a record,” he told LaLiga when asked about the possibility of making Luis Aragonés the club’s all-time leading scorer. “It was 2014 and he was just enjoying it and doing the best he could.”
The fact that Griezmann has surpassed club legend Aragones has helped fans forget the way he left them to join Barcelona in 2019.
Asked what Diego Simeone told him when he announced his departure, Griezmann responded: “He told me that I deserved the best and that he was not going to stand in my way because I had given everything for him and for the club.” We never cut off our relationship. “I remember being a Barça player, talking to him, about our daughters, about football.”
Antoine Griezmann scored Atlético de Madrid’s first goal in the comeback against Inter Milan.
Griezmann believes that Atlético can win the Champions League after reaching the quarterfinals
Atlético de Madrid’s top scorer will face his former club, Barcelona, this weekend
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That long-standing relationship helped Griezmann find his way back to Atlético in 2022 after a disappointing spell at the Camp Nou. But the fans were never going to be so forgiving.
“I already knew it was going to be difficult,” he says. ‘That was natural. The goal was to return and do everything possible to win the affection of the fans again. I remember telling Aitor, who was always in charge of my affairs: “I want to return to Atleti.” He told me that it was going to be very difficult, that I was going to have people against me. I asked him and my sister, who is my manager, to take me back there, and I wanted to take care of everything else. “I knew I would win them over in the end.”
They applauded him when he became their all-time leading scorer and were excited again on Wednesday when he returned after two weeks out through injury to lead them to victory against Inter.
“I wasn’t sure I would ever have as much love from the fans again, certainly not as much as I feel today, but I did know that they wouldn’t boo me, that I would have a neutral relationship with them. But now I feel a lot of love.”
Griezmann has been linked with a move to Manchester United at various stages of his career, but never made it to Old Trafford despite David Beckham being the player he modeled himself on as a child.
When asked why he always plays in long sleeves, he said: “Because when I watched football as a kid, there was David Beckham in long sleeves.” I really liked his style. At Real Sociedad I remember that they didn’t make long-sleeved shirts and I had to ask the outfitter, who at that time was Michelo. He went out of his way to get me long sleeve shirts.
All Griezmann’s return needs now is a trophy. “A dream and an objective is to win LaLiga and the Champions League,” he says. “I have never won the league and I may be the club’s top scorer, but not having won is difficult. And the Champions League, for everyone, would be a dream.”
He revealed that he wears long-sleeved shirts and has been inspired by David Beckham (left)
He admitted that it was difficult when Atlético won LaLiga when he was a rival of Barcelona
Griezmann aims to win LaLiga and the Champions League with Simeone at Atlético
The club has won the national competition in the 10 years since Griezmann joined the club, but it came when he was at Barcelona. “It was very difficult because we were also close to winning it,” he says. “But at the same time I was very happy because they deserved it, and for Koke, for Cholo (Simeone), who mean a lot to me, I was happy.”
Barcelona will be the rival of Griezmann, Koke and Simeone on Sunday when Atlético hosts Xavi’s team. It will be a celebration of two teams that defeated Italian rivals this week to reach the European quarterfinals. It could be an opportunity to close the gap with Real Madrid. And it could even be a precursor to a meeting in Europe depending on how Friday’s draw plays out.
The fact that Atlético is in that box makes Griezmann happy and brings him one step closer to his dream.
Watch Atlético Madrid vs Barcelona on Sunday March 17 with coverage starting at 7:30pm GMT on Viaplay Sports 1 and ITV4.