“It is with a heart full of memories that I close this chapter” - Antoine Griezmann announces retirement from international football

Atletico Madrid superstar Antoine Griezmann has announced his retirement from international football. The midfielder will retire from France's national team and focus on club football.

Griezmann shared a video on his social media accounts on Monday (September 30) which featured a compilation of him with Les Bleus. In the caption, he wrote:

"It is with a heart full of memories that I close this chapter of my life. Thank you for this magnificent tricolor adventure and see you soon."

Antoine Griezmann made his debut for France in a 2-0 win over the Netherlands in a friendly on March 5, 2014. He made 137 appearances overall, scoring 44 goals and providing 38 assists. He won the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and UEFA Nations League in 2021.

The Atletico Madrid man was the top scorer at Euro 2016 with six goals. However, Les Bleus lost in the final against Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal. He was also voted the France Footballer of the Year in 2016.

Griezmann's last major tournament with France was the UEFA Euro 2024. He failed to register any goal contribution as they lost in the semi-finals against eventual winners Spain. He also played in their UEFA Nations League games in September. They lost 3-1 against Italy but beat Belgium 2-0.

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When Kylian Mbappe said Antoine Griezmann was disappointed after France captaincy snub

France's former captain Hugo Lloris retired from international football in 2022 after Les Bleus lost in the World Cup final against Argentina on penalties. With Antoine Griezmann's stature and experience in the team, many predicted him to be named the new captain.

However, manager Didier Deschamps chose the much younger Kylian Mbappe for the armband. In March 2023, Mbappe spoke about how Griezmann was disappointed not to be chosen for captaincy, saying (via Football Espana):

“Antoine is disappointed and it is understandable, I would have had the same reaction. I have spoken to him about it. He is the most important player of the Deschamps era, and we will go hand in hand to take the national team to the top.”

The now 33-year-old Antoine Griezmann featured in multiple matches after that but failed to make a big impact.

He will now focus on Atletico Madrid, who have had an excellent start to the 2024-25 campaign. They have won four and drawn four of their eight La Liga games and sit third in the table, five points behind leaders Barcelona.