Right now, Antoine Griezmann is a man in demand. Heavily linked with a move away from Atletico Madrid – the club he’s called home since the summer of 2014 – at the end of last season following his starring role for France at Euro 2016, Griezmann decided to stay at the Vicente Calderon for another season at least, where he’s currently hit 26 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions.
Griezmann recently claimed that the only club he’d leave Atletico for is NBA side New York Knicks – which obviously isn’t going to happen – but despite his claims that he’s perfectly happy at Los Rojiblancos, speculation still exists over his future with the likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid rumoured to be tabling world-record bids for the Frenchman.
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Griezmann may well decide to move to pastures anew this summer, but here are five things he ought to consider before he does.
#1 The physicality of the Premier League
The Premier League and French strikers have always gone hand-in-hand – just ask the likes of Eric Cantona, Thierry Henry, Sylvain Wiltord and Louis Zaha. Currently, of course, France’s Olivier Giroud forms the fulcrum of Arsenal’s strike force. Griezmann though has primarily been linked with Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea – probably the only three clubs in England that could afford him.
Before making a move to England though, Griezmann should probably be aware of the treatment he’d receive at the hands of the Premier League’s defences – and from the Premier League’s more lenient referees.
The last striker to move from Atletico Madrid to England was Diego Costa, and obviously, he’s been a huge hit, but Costa is also a very different player to Griezmann. A physical bruiser, Costa can mix it with the world’s most brutal defenders and always holds his own, often coming out on top.
Griezmann though is a player who doesn’t really rely on his physical side, preferring to use his speed, movement and finesse to find his way to goal. The stats show that this season in the La Liga he’s made 35 appearances and has drawn 31 fouls – around one per game – but this would likely go up in the Premier League if he were faced with defenders like Ryan Shawcross and Younes Kaboul.
Throw in the more lenient refereeing style of England and Griezmann might find it tough going should he arrive in the Premier League.
#2 Could he move to a rival?
If he didn’t go to the Premier League the other likely destination for Griezmann – should he move – is Atletico’s great city rivals, Real Madrid. After all, Los Blancos are capable of buying any player in the world should they choose to. But could Griezmann really move to his side’s biggest rival, especially after professing his love for Atletico this week?
Historically, transfers between the two clubs have been few and far between. Since 2000, only six players have represented both Madrid teams and the great majority – including former Arsenal star Jose Antonio Reyes – moved from Real to Atletico, a move usually seen (albeit unfairly) as a step down.
Only the little-remembered Santiago Solari made the move the other way and of course, the season in which he moved (1999/00) saw Atletico relegated. They were hardly the hottest rival of Real at the time.
Right now though it’s a different story, especially as Atletico have come so close to European glory in the past few seasons, only to have their larger neighbours ruin it for them. If Griezmann were to make the move across the city one can only imagine the reaction from Atletico’s fans.
Most likely, he’d be treated in a similar way to how Luis Figo was when he moved from Barcelona to Real in 2000 – hopefully without having a pig’s head thrown at him. It’s food for thought for the diminutive Frenchman.
#3 Could he cope with the pressure?
If Griezmann decides to move away from Atletico, the likelihood is that it’d take a world-record transfer fee – eclipsing the monstrous £89m paid by Manchester United for Paul Pogba last season – to prise him away from the Vicente Calderon. The fee could well end up being close to £100m, which is a scary figure however you look at it.
The question I’m pondering over is whether Griezmann could cope with such pressure. He’s been in high-pressure situations before, admittedly – the weight of a whole country partially on his back during Euro 2016 – and he has largely delivered, but being the world’s most expensive player is a whole other ball game. Just ask Pogba, who’s received plenty of criticism this season and has generally struggled to live up to the price tag.
Historically too, players with the “most expensive of all time” tag have often found it hard going – Gianluigi Lentini and Denilson wore the tag like a millstone around their necks – while other huge transfers such as Manchester United’s 2003 signing of Juan Sebastian Veron also went wildly wrong with the player never justifying the money spent on him.
A move costing a world-record fee would put insane amounts of pressure on Griezmann and the only thing that could justify it would be to hit the ground running and score a ton of goals. It wouldn’t be easy.
#4 Would he be overshadowed?
With the likely suitors for Griezmann being Man United, Man City and Real Madrid, another question hanging over the move would be the potential for Griezmann to be overshadowed by other players rather than being the undisputed top dog as he is at Atletico.
Since Diego Costa’s 2014 move to Chelsea from the Vicente Calderon, Griezmann has clearly become Atleti’s top striker and the focal point of their attack. Despite the return of Atletico legend Fernando Torres, Griezmann is still the man and he’s paid back the faith wonderfully, finishing as their top scorer in all three seasons he’s spent there.
If he moved elsewhere though, he’d be playing alongside some of the biggest names – and greatest strikers – in the sport. A move to Man City would see him line up alongside Sergio Aguero, one of the most consistent goalscorers in Premier League history and at 28, still in his prime.
He’d also have Nolito and Gabriel Jesus to contend with. At United, he’d be joining one of the best strikers – and biggest egos – in the world of football in Zlatan Ibrahimovic. And a move to Real would obviously see him alongside the monolith that is Cristiano Ronaldo.
Even with a monster transfer fee, it’s actually tricky to see the Frenchman as “the man” at any of those three clubs. Maybe he’d be better off staying at Atleti and being their top dog.
#5 The grass probably isn’t greener
Sure, Atletico Madrid have been eliminated by Real Madrid in the last four Champions League seasons. And sure, they can’t pay as much as either of the Manchester clubs, nor the likes of Chelsea and Paris St. Germain too. But what they do have is a consistency that’s difficult to replicate elsewhere.
Since taking over as manager in December 2011, Argentine Diego Simeone has ushered in a real level of success at the Vicente Calderon, winning the Europa League in 2011/12 and then La Liga itself in 2013/14 – the first time the Real/Barca stranglehold had been broken since 1995/96. And while Atleti haven’t been able to capture the Champions League, they’ve reached two of the last four finals which is nothing to sneeze at.
Basically, in an era where money dominates, Atletico Madrid have become one of the most consistently successful sides despite not spending a crazy amount of it. The larger clubs out there might capture more trophies but they don’t have the same feeling of a relatively calm ship as Atletico do. Real, for instance, are constantly in flux with their demand for success and Man United are on their third manager since the 2013 departure of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Moving from a club like Atletico – and a brilliant manager like Simeone – would represent a risk for Griezmann. For me, he’d be smart to stay where he is and attempt to lead Atletico to even greater heights alongside his Argentine boss next season.
