On October 30, France Football revealed its final Ballon d’Or rankings for 2023, placing the 30 nominees in order after all the votes were counted. The names trickled in via social media during the star-studded gala in Paris, with the outstanding players of the past 12 months all included.
There was Jamal Musiala, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard earning places in the top 20. So too did the likes of Mo Salah, Lautauro Martinez and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Lionel Messi, of course, won his eighth Golden Ball, with Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr close behind him.
One name that might have surprised those watching was Antoine Griezmann, who ranked at a lowly 21st following a season where Atletico Madrid crashed out of Europe early and went trophy-less in Spain. That he was even on the shortlist at all will have surprised some, but in truth, Griezmann’s final ranking did him something of a disservice. That’s a sentiment shared by Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who told 90minsoccer this week that he “couldn’t believe it” when he heard Griezmann’s Ballon d’Or position.
Since the 2022 World Cup kicked-off in November of last year, the 32-year-old forward has scored 25 goals and added 17 assists for club and country. He took an Atletico side that had started the season in miserable form and led them to a third-placed finish and Champions League qualification. He has also been the architect of an undefeated Euro 2024 qualifying campaign for France, while in the opening months of the current campaign, his nine goals have Diego Simeone’s side well-placed to make a first La Liga title push in three years.
On Sunday, when Atleti travel to take on Griezmann’s former club, Barcelona, he has the chance to haunt Catalunya, as one of the Blaugrana’s most-expensive transfer flops returns with his world-class abilities now revived and ready to land another blow to Barca’s fading title dreams.
Not the right fit at Barca
Griezmann and Barcelona’s split was an amicable one. The two parties had endured a rocky 24-month relationship ever since his €120 million (£107m/$134m) move in the summer 2019, with neither side benefitting from the union.
Griezmann, once one of Europe’s best, saw his career stagnate at Camp Nou, though he did manage to scored a respectable 35 goals in 102 appearances. Brought into try and appease Messi and stop him from leaving, the pair instead found themselves operating in the same areas on the pitch, and manager Ronald Koeman never made the tactical adjustments to accommodate the duo.
When the possibility of an Atleti return presented itself — on an initial two-year loan with an obligation to buy — neither side of the deal had reason to complain. Simeone, in fact, hailed the Frenchman’s homecoming.
“I found a Griezmann who was eager to return,” Simeone said in September 2021. “[He was] enthusiastic about the option of returning to the team, and people will demand from Griezmann what they demand from us every day.”
There were some issues that still needed ironing out, as Atleti famously tried to use Griezmann as little as possible in order to avoid paying the obligated €40m (£35m/$39m) fee that would kick in after a certain number of appearances. But once a permanent move was finalised, on friendlier terms for a reluctant Atleti and cash-strapped Barca, Griezmann’s Atletico journey 2.0 kicked off in earnest.
Atletico at a crossroads
In January 2023, Simeone was reportedly on the verge of being let go. His side had gone into the World Cup break sat fifth in the table, already 13 points behind leaders Barcelona after just 14 matches. They had also crashed out of Europe altogether, finishing bottom of a less-than daunting Champions League group that also included Porto, Club Brugge and Bayer Leverkusen.
The legendary Atleti manager seemingly couldn’t work his magic anymore, with it claimed that opposition coaches had worked out how to counter ‘Cholismo’. His team may have won La Liga in 2021, but even that felt like a spectre of something old (with the ageing Luis Suarez leading the charge), rather than the dawn of a new club.
And so, Simeone changed things. Atletico could no longer be an elite defensive side — not in the mould of those that had competed with Barcelona and Real Madrid in the early 2010s. It was time for something new, something more attacking, something that the roaring Rojiblanco fans could get behind.
In truth, Simeone had searched for it for a while, making the ill-advised signature of Joao Felix two years previously as a replacement for Griezmann. But that never worked – and with the Portuguese playmaker loaned out to Chelsea while Griezmann’s loan move was made permanent – Simeone had his answer.
Taking a lesson from Deschamps
To make his new-look side work, Simeone turned to the French national team, who had come within an Emiliano Martinez save of winning their second straight World Cup. Mbappe may have been the hero of that side, but Griezmann was the unquestioned fulcrum of it all. Dropped into a playmaking No.10 role, Didier Deschamps, in effect, allowed his attacking midfielder to control the tempo of games.
And he repaid that faith in style. Griezmann didn’t score in Qatar, but he was present for the bulk of Les Bleus’ biggest moments. He provided the killer assist that set up Olivier Giroud’s winner against England in the last eight, while was instrumental in the build-up to two of Mbappe’s goals in the final. The Barcelona flop had become, in the space of one month, one of the world’s most important playmakers.
Simeone hasn’t used Griezmann in exactly the same way; he still likes to pack the centre of the park with three interior midfielders, while France use only two. But the Argentine coach has asked Griezmann to drop deeper while still involving himself in attacking play. In the first four months after the World Cup, Griezmann touched the ball more in the middle third than at any point in his club career.
And so while the teamsheet suggested that he was going to be playing alongside Alvaro Morata, the eye test told a different story. This was an orchestrator who covered ground, created spaces, and got into the box at the right moments. With Griezmann dictating, Atletico only lost once in the remainder of their La Liga campaign. Griezmann scored 10 and assisted 12 across those four months, becoming the driving force in an unlikely turnaround.
Simeone, victorious and vindicated, summed it up: “He is an extraordinary player despite the fact that many, many, thought otherwise.”
No drop off in form
“We’ve been changing the way we play,” Griezmann told 90minsoccer before the 2023-24 campaign. Atleti, he said, were going to play more attacking football this season. They planned on keeping the ball, dictating play, and creating more goalscoring opportunities.
This would still be a hardworking side revered for its transition defending and ruthless edge. But they would do that while also being more ambitious on the ball. It’s a style that saw the Rojiblancos turn last season around, and a full campaign of that swagger, only more refined and calculated, meant Atletico could challenge for domestic and European success, Griezmann claimed.
Thus far, his assertions have yielded results. Atleti are third in La Liga, four points off the top with a game in hand on co-leaders Real Madrid and Girona. They have scored the third-most goals in the league, and conceded the second-fewest. A drubbing at the hands of Valencia and tight loss to Las Palmas now look like outliers rather than warning signs.
They have produced in big moments, too. Atletico dominated the Madrid derby, and remain the only team to keep Jude Bellingham quiet over 90 minutes this season. A nervy win against Real Sociedad, battering of Rayo Vallecano, and qualification for the Champions League knockout stages have only bolstered their credentials as genuine trophy candidates.
Reviving Morata
But it is not only his own fortunes that Griezmann has changed. Morata has always been a better goalscorer than social media ‘fail’ compilations and online trolls might indicate. The much-maligned striker has averaged a goal every other game in his career, won four top-flight titles, and also boasts two Champions League winners’ medals. This success has come while playing at the elite level for Atletico, Juventus, Real Madrid and Chelsea, while Luis de La Fuente has named him Spain captain.
Still, there is a prevailing sense that Morata has long needed his career kickstarting. A miserable spell in west London hurt his reputation in eyes of English football fans, and for all of his talent, he has never delivered a signature moment, or enjoyed a full season of sustained success.
But that might just be changing in 2023-24, and in a way, he has Griezmann to thank. Morata has scored 12 goals in 17 games so far this season for Atletico, while adding a further four in five for Spain. Although Griezmann isn’t the player who usually lays on the assist — Saul, Angel Correa and Koke are Morata’s main providers — Griezmann is able to offer the vital link in between.
Sometimes assists are easy; playing the pass before it is harder, and there’s where Griezmann’s presence has been key to ensuring Morata gets the opportunities he needs.
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Why doesn’t Griezmann get any respect?
It makes admittedly little sense that, based on sporting merit alone, Griezmann is not consistently cited among the consensus top 10 players in world football. This is a player who finished last season with the same number of assists as Kevin De Bruyne and Messi. Only Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema and Joselu, scored more goals in Spain’s top-flight.
His lack of recognition, something that ignites anger in the mass footballing consciousness of La Liga watchers, is puzzling then. Admittedly, Atletico have rarely provided must-watch football during Simeone’s tenure, and with them not involved in the Champions League knockouts last season, nor in a high-profile group this time around, few outside of Spain are likely to be tuning to watch Griezmann in action on a weekly basis.
In fact, there are likely those who have not seen Griezmann in action much, if at all, since he left Barcelona, and may still believe that he is still performing at the levels which led to his departure from Catalunya.
There was also the issue of him not having the best relationship with Atletico’s fans until recent times due to the way he left the club in the first place. Griezmann, then club captain, made a show of wanting to leave Atleti on at least one occasion. He flirted with an exit in 2018, swore loyalty, and then departed for Barca when they paid his release clause in 2019 — with very little apparent sentiment after making the move.
Angry Atletico fans burned his kits, defaced a plaque outside the stadium, and expressed their anger on social media. Griezmann was booed heavily upon his return to the Metropolitano, both as a Barcelona player and in his first game back in Atleti colours.
“[The Barcelona transfer] did a lot of damage to the fans,” Griezmann later admitted. “They gave me everything and in the end I left because that’s what I wanted, what I needed. I as a fan would also have been very angry. It’s what I deserved.”
Those supporters have come back onside in recent months thanks to Griezmann’s tireless displays, but the lack of fanfare around his upturn in form has no doubt played a role in him not credit he deserves from outside.
Out to take down Felix & Barca
Perhaps no one understands what it means to be Griezmann more than the player Atletico replaced him with. Felix, at this point, has shared a remarkably similar career trajectory — albeit on a slight delay. Felix, like Griezmann, is an immensely-talented creative player who saw his Atletico time come to an end when opting for an admittedly risky Barcelona switch.
Their respective careers in Catalunya have looked much the same, too. Felix, albeit in a smaller sample size, has endured the kind of rocky spells that Griezmann was prone to, starting well before enduring a weeks-long slump that Barca hope ended with Tuesday’s winning goal against Porto.
On Sunday, the pair will face off, with Griezmann looking to cause more pain to the Barca fans after his underwhelming time as one of their own. Barca haven’t really missed the Frenchman; he was the wrong player, signed at the wrong time.
There is little animosity between the two parties, though that might change after the weekend’s affair. An Atleti win at the Olympic Stadium would confirm the Rojiblancos as being firmly in the title race, while could Barca fall as many as seven points behind the league leaders with more than half the season still to play.
If Griezmann is able to pull the strings in a headline-grabbing Atletico Madrid win, then maybe, just maybe, he’ll start to get the credit he deserves for a sensational year of football.
