Antoine Griezmann reveals why he rejected Arsenal to join Atletico Madrid

Antoine Griezmann

Antoine Griezmann, who joined defending La Liga champions Atletico Madrid this summer, said that he picked the La Liga club over Arsenal because of manager Diego Simeone.

Despite Arsene Wenger’s best attempts to get him to the Emirates, he opted for Atletico as he thought he had more chances of growing as a player while playing for the Spanish club. He had also received an offer from French Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain in the summer.

The Frenchman was bought for £23.8m by Atletico Madrid from Real Sociedad earlier this year.

He is yet to open his account in La Liga for his new club but has already scored in the Champions League. He played 201 games in all competitions at Sociedad, scoring 52 goals in all.

Simeone the right man: Griezmann

Griezmann felt that Simeone would be the right man to help him develop his career. Simeone broke the La Liga duopoly last season when Atletico Madrid lifted the league title – the first time in years since either Barcelona or Real Madrid won the league.

“I had the boss [Simeone] on the phone. He motivated me and said the club really wanted me.

“I knew that I was coming here to learn.” the 23-year old said to France Football magazine.

Atletico are the champions: Griezmann

When asked why he picked Spain, when other clubs in the world were also interested in buying him, he said that he felt Spain was like his home and Atletico was a great club to be part of.

"Why Spain and not elsewhere? This is my Championship, my home. I’m happy here and Atletico is a great club. They were willing to pay €30 million for me”. he said.

Griezmann also added that he wanted to join a club that were winning trophies and that, he was in favour of intense training sessions.

“[Atletico are] still the champions of Spain. I needed a club like that and a coach like Diego Simeone to progress.

“I always demand intensity in training. That’s my style and I like it.” he added.