Lionel Messi, Barcelona and the Antoine Griezmann conundrum

Another game, another notoriously difficult day in the office for Antoine Griezmann. When Barcelona paid Atletico Madrid his fee, which was in excess of £107.5 million, there was little indication that he would become such a talking point for fans and media alike for all the wrong reasons. So far, Antoine Griezmann has scored only 8 La Liga goals, and has netted 14 times in all competitions.

Yet this is not the kind of return the Barcelona hierarchy expected from him when they splashed the cash for the dancing Frenchman.

What makes it even more worrisome is that Antoine Griezmann has had plenty of opportunities to learn and to adapt, having played the most number of La Liga minutes for the Blaugrana alongside Marc Andre Ter Stegen, whose future as the Barcelona number 1 looks more secure with every passing game. The same however cannot be said of Antoine Griezmann.

The French international has had a very inspirational career. Born in the historic town of Mâcon, a small city with just 34,000 residents, Antoine Griezmann was often rejected by French clubs in his youth for his slender build and slight frame. It was the Spanish outfit Real Sociedad who first showed faith in him by inviting him for a two-week trial and handing him a youth contract.

Antoine Griezmann, in return, helped Real Sociedad win the Segunda Division in his first season, scoring 46 goals in 180 appearances in total for the San Sebastian side in his five-year spell there. His move to Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2014 garnered his employers a club record fee of € 30 million.

His performances at Atletico saw him become one of the most influential forwards in the world, and silverware in the form of a Europa League title, a Supercopa de España, his first trophy with the club, and a UEFA Super Cup followed suit.

Antoine Griezmann evolves into a complete product

Under the tutelage of Diego Simeone, Griezmann became much more than a goalscoring forward; his off-the-ball movement and defensive work-rate set him apart in a system built to defend narrow leads and grind out results through sheer determination and hard work.

He was unlucky not to add a Champions League medal to his list of achievements, missing out against bitter rivals Real Madrid in the finals of 2016. His performances for Atleti saw his market value rise immensely, and Barcelona were soon interested.

After an unsuccessful year of courting by the Blaugrana, Antoine Griezmann decided to stay at the Madrid side, winning the World Cup in the summer of 2018 and finally joining Barcelona soon after the tournament. Nobody could have predicted his immense rise to such prominence, not the least Real Sociedad, when they offered him his modest contract back in 2009.

At the time when Barcelona acquired the Frenchman, it was hoped that he would supplement the forward line, with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez both in their thirties, and the Uruguayan having been lacklustre in his performances in the Champions League.

However, Antoine Griezmann has so far looked to be at a different wavelength from the rest of his teammates. It was widely believed that Ernesto Valverde had been unable to unlock his true potential, like in the case of Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele. It was also felt that a new manager would be able to integrate Griezmann far more effectively into his system. Under Quique Setien so far, that has hardly been the case.

His defensive displays have been commendable both under Ernesto Valverde and Setien, but surely Barcelona did not pay so much money for Antoine Griezmann to simply supplement their backline. Against Leganes, as against Mallorca, he was all over the place, trying to do everything and ended up doing nothing except put a hard-working display, closing down the opposition through his energetic pressing.

He looks more of a box-to-box midfielder who has a forward’s starting position than a forward whose task is to create goalscoring chances. He was unlucky that his fine finish was ruled out by VAR for an offside call against Nelson Semedo, but his overall attacking performance has left a lot to be desired so far.

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu presents Antoine Griezmann in the summer of 2019. He may now be looking to sell the player.

A strange coincidence and Messi's continued brilliance

It is interesting that Antoine Griezmann’s unsteady performances coincide perfectly with Barcelona’s financial woes. Bartomeu and his board are working tirelessly to gather funds for the arrival of Lautaro Martinez, whose eye-watering €111 million release fee seems impossible for the Blaugrana to afford, given the current financial climate.

There are plans to sell Philippe Coutinho to a prospective buyer, with Chelsea being a potential destination according to Guillem Balague.

However, according to Balague, the board could be tempted to do likewise with Antoine Griezmann, who, at 29 years of age, seems unlikely to be at the Nou Camp for long.

Lionel Messi was at his spectacular best against Mallorca, and scored the crucial penalty against Leganes.

This again brings us to the inevitable topic of Lionel Messi, a player who always seems to either score or assist with extreme regularity. Messi, soon to be 33, is enjoying yet another successful season with Barcelona, having already notched up 21 goals in this highly disruptive campaign.

Nothing seems to matter to him; his form and class both remaining permanent. In the match against Leganes, the cameras captured him having a steady discussion with Antoine Griezmann, an unusual sight in normal times.

In fact, unfortunately for the Frenchman, Messi looked far more comfortable with Martin Braithwaite in attack against Real Mallorca than he did with Antoine Griezmann against Leganes. It was Messi's spectacular determined run that earned Barcelona a penalty, a chance that he emphatically converted. It remains to be seen how Messi rallies his troops and gets the likes of Antoine Griezmann to fire on all cylinders. Otherwise, the World Cup winner could be shipped elsewhere to provide much-needed funds.