"When I came back, I said to my wife: 'I can't stand Simeone, I don't know what he wants'"

Antoine Griezmann is loving life at the Metropolitano. Since his return from his brief spell at FC Barcelona, he has won over the 'Colchoneros' fans with hard work and goals.

The French striker, at his 'Goleador de Leyenda' tribute event, where he received the club's gold and brilliant badge, admitted that the return was not easy: "In the first few months, when I wasn't playing so much, there were times when I would go home to my wife and say: 'I can't stand this guy any more, I don't know what he wants from me,'" he said, referring to Diego Pablo Simeone.

"It was difficult for me to get into the team's dynamic. Sometimes I didn't shoot at goal, and Simeone would stop training to tell me that I had to shoot, score goals.... In the end, with hard work, thanks to my teammates who helped me a lot, it worked out well," he continued.

As soon as he heard that Atletico wanted him back, he didn't think twice: "When Simeone called me, I told him that I wanted to come back. I knew they were going to wait for me. I had to be quiet and work".

 

February 15, 2024

The No. 7 understands perfectly why, at first, the fans whistled at him after his troubled departure to the Camp Nou: "It was like: 'You take it and get back to work'. The first thing I did was cut my hair".

He explained that, if he left for Barcelona, it was because "I had reached the limit mentally". Just a short time away from the Metropolitano helped him to know where he wanted to be: "I was looking for excuses when things didn't work out for me. I tried, but after a few months I realised how happy I was at Atletico".

"On my return, I asked Fernando Torres for advice, and he told me: 'They're not going to tell you anything here for missing goals, but for not giving everything on the pitch'. That advice has brought me this far," he said.

Griezmann acknowledged that he made a "mistake" when he left, but that is now in the past. "I'm doing everything in my power to make them proud of their No. 7. We have to enjoy it all together. We need them for what's left. This beautiful event gives me more responsibility to keep doing things well," he told the fans.