FC Barcelona legend Jordi Alba told the ‘El camino de Mario’ podcast that Antoine Griezmann ultimately failed at the club because he didn’t “adapt in the best way”.
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FC Barcelona legend Jordi Alba told the ‘El camino de Mario’ podcast that Antoine Griezmann ultimately failed at the club because he didn’t “adapt in the best way”.
Grizemann was the Julian Alvarez of his day, in being an Atletico Madrid star player courted by the Blaugrana.
After putting the move off for one season with his dramatic ‘The Decision’ documentary put together by Gerard Pique’s production company, he then switched allegiances in a $138.5 million (€120 million) deal in 2019.
Just like Philippe Coutinho before him, though, Griezmann failed to gel with Lionel Messi at the Spotify Camp Nou with his high-profile transfer viewed as a failure in retrospect.
He returned to the Metropolitano with his tail between his legs in 2021/2022, before then making that move permanent the following campaign.
A reported $23 million (€20 million) deal of course left Barça seriously short-changed, for a player they only got two seasons out of.
Reflecting on Griezmann’s tenure, Alba offered explanatations as to why the World Cup winner didn’t take off in Blaugrana.
“He did things well, you know. He was a very dedicated guy. He gave us something extra, because having worked with [Diego] Simeone, he was always at his physical peak. Technically, he was very good,” Alba said.
“But, like many players, they didn’t adapt in the best way in the end . Then he returned to Atletico and became that Griezmann again, the one Barça had their eye on.”
Barcelona hasn’t learned its lesson in dealing with Atletico Madrid
The Griezmann debacle isn’t the only case of Atletico getting one over on Barça. In the past, the Catalans haved gifted strikers David Villa and Luis Suarez to the Roijblancos, which resulted in La Liga-winning campaigns in 2014 and 2021 respectively.
Half a decade on, Barça are currently trying to land Julian Alvarez after he reportedly agreed to join them on a five-year deal.
A $116 million (€100 million) offer will need to be upped, and MARCA’s transfer market expert Matteo Moretto believes that the same $138 million (€120 million) sum paid for Griezmann could temp Atleti despite Real Madrid’s rejected $175 million (€150 million) bid on Tuesday.
Also, in 2026/2027, there are reasons to believe that Alvarez would be more compatible in Hansi Flick’s system than Griezmann wasn’t back in the Ernesto Valverde, Quique Setien or Ronald Koeman era.
With Barcelona needing a number 9 as Robert Lewandowski departs on June 30, it’s also a more defined role that Alvarez would play as a center forward or false 9. Contrastingly, Griezmann was shoehorned on one of the wings or tested as a second striker while trying not to get in Messi’s way.
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