Lionel Messi gets blamed for Griezmann’s failed move to Barcelona

Lionel Messi has been blamed by Antoine Griezmann for his failed move to Barcelona last summer. He did not mention it directly, yet, that’s what he meant..

Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann was heavily linked with a transfer to Spanish correlatives F.C. Barcelona last summer. In fact, the move looked so inevitable that the France international also created a LeBron James kind of video to announce his decision. But it turned out opposite and he committed his future to Atletico Madrid.

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The French striker has been doing well for his current club this season and has been a talismanic player for them. One man who has a massive say in transfers at Barcelona is their captain Lionel Messi. And as per Griezmann’s words, it looks like he feels Messi was responsible for his failed transfer. In fact, the 27-year-old did not move to Barcelona because he could not claim a central role. He said:

"“You have Barca who wants you, who calls you, who sends messages But then there is the club where you are, where you are an important player and where they build a project around you. [And] subconsciously, being Messi’s lieutenant may have played a part.”"

Now that Antoine Griezmann has confessed that it was Lionel Messi’s presence at Barcelona that compelled him in rejecting them, it is now imminent that he will not move to the club in his career since they are of similar ages. Plus, Barcelona will certainly not appreciate the fact that Antoine indirectly lashed out at Messi.

The France international has also been on Manchester United’s radar in the recent years but the Red Devils went for Romelu Lukaku instead in 2017. Griezmann stayed put to Atletico Madrid after their two-year transfer ban, but as mentioned earlier, a transfer to Barcelona was pretty much on the cards this year.

Antoine Griezmann has been extremely important for Atletico Madrid since checking in from Real Sociedad in 2014. The France international has been their best player by far since arriving and was also instrumental for his nation in the World Cup. He is a candidate for the Ballon d’Or after winning the World Cup and the Onze d’Or in Russia.

Who do you think will end up replacing Messi at the Camp Nou in the future?