Antoine Griezmann said the affection he has felt at Atlético Madrid is “worth more” than winning the Champions League or LaLiga after playing his last home game for the club in their 1-0 win over Girona, while apologising again to fans for his Barcelona stint.
Atlético paid tribute to Griezmann — who will join Orlando City in MLS this summer — in a ceremony on the pitch after the full-time whistle at the Metropolitano on Sunday.
Griezmann, who is Atlético’s all-time leading goalscorer and fourth-highest appearance maker, has won the Europa League, UEFA Super Cup and Spanish Supercopa with the club, but never the Champions League or LaLiga.
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The forward joined Atlético in 2014 and starred for them until joining Barcelona in 2019, returning two years later.
“Thank you all for staying behind. This is amazing,” Griezmann said in a speech to fans, after receiving tributes on the pitch from teammates, coach Diego Simeone and club legends including Fernando Torres and Diego Godín.
“This is important. I know many of you have already, and some still haven’t, but I apologize again [for joining Barça]. I didn’t realize how much love I had here. I was very young, and I made a mistake. I came back to my senses, and we did everything we could to enjoy life here again.”
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Griezmann praised Simeone, who had earlier described the forward as “possibly the best player we’ve had here.”
“Thanks to you [Simeone] there’s so much excitement in this stadium,” Griezmann said. “Thanks to you I became a world champion and I felt like the best in the world. I owe you so much, and it’s been an honour to fight for you.”
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“I haven’t been able to bring home a LaLiga title or a Champions League trophy, but this love is worth more,” Griezmann added. “I’ll carry it with me for the rest of my life.”
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Griezmann finished third in the Men’s Ballon d’Or rankings in 2016 — when Atlético were losing Champions League finalists — and 2018, when he won the World Cup with France.
“He should have won a Ballon d’Or,” goalkeeper Jan Oblak said. ‘He still has a lot of years left in the United States, where they’ll enjoy him.”
