"They know nothing about football!" - Ex-Barcelona star Antoine Griezmann hits back at pundits for suggesting he's a luxury player
French forward Antoine Griezmann took to social media and called out football pundits Mark Schwarzer and Jay Bothroyd for suggesting that he's a luxury player.
In a clip shared by Optus Sport on X, the pundits claimed that the Atletico Madrid forward isn't world class and doesn't have good defensive work rate. They also implied that his disappointing stint with Barcelona showed that he couldn't make the difference at the highest level.
Griezmann took to X to respond to the claims. He wrote:
"They know nothing about football!"
Barcelona signed Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid in 2019 for a reported €120 million. The Frenchman spent two years at the club and made 102 appearances, chipping in with 35 goals and 17 assists. However, his stint in Catalonia is largely considered an unsuccessful one as he failed to make his mark on the team.
Griezmann returned to Atleti in 2021 and re-established himself as the club's most important player. He has 379 appearances for Atletico Madrid in his career, scoring 176 goals and providing 83 assists.
Over the years, Griezmann has won the UEFA Europa League (2018) and has featured in the UEFA Champions League Final (2016). He has also won the FIFA World Cup (2018) and UEFA Nations League (2021) with France. When it comes to individual awards, he was third in Ballon d'Or voting twice (2016, 2018) and was named La Liga's best player in 2016.
Thierry Henry calls Antoine Griezmann the 'most underrated' player in football
Griezmann recently received high praise from France legend Thierry Henry, who explained how important Antoine Griezmann is for the French national team's system. Henry, who is France's Under-21 manager, even called Griezmann the 'most underrated player' in football.
"We must not forget Griezmann, who reminds us that hard work is a talent. Griezmann is by far the most underrated player in existence. We often talk about Kylian, so much so that I am even in favour of abusing him. But Griezmann… look at his passes and his goals. Tell me who in history could play all four offensive positions like him? There aren’t many. Grizou is one of them," Henry told Le Parisien, via Squawka.
The French forward is expected to lead France's frontline alongside Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud in UEFA Euro 2024. It will also be interesting to see if Atletico Madrid allow him to compete in the Olympics under Henry.
For now, Antoine Griezmann will be focused on the remaining club season with Atletico Madrid. They are fifth in La Liga standings with 55 points from 29 matches and will play Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.