Problems do not seem want to leave Antoine Griezmann in Barcelona. When his performance was not optimal, Griezmann is now reported to be making a fuss with team captain Lionel Messi.
Griezmann and Messi reportedly had a fight during the team’s training session. The quarrel between the two Blaugrana star players even had to be interrupted by coach Quique Setien and his team-mates.
The origin of the Griezmann and Messi fray is unknown. However, there is a suspicion that the friction between the two players is the culmination of a relationship that has not been harmonious since the start of the season.
Diario Gol claimed that Messi had not given feedback to Griezmann when Barcelona won 2-0 over leganes in the Spanish league. Claims which, if proven, are clearly not good for the internal team.
Moreover, Barcelona is focused in the hunt for the Spanish League title. The position of the Catalan team is also no longer safe because the top position of the standings shifted to eternal rivals, Real Madrid.
The disharmonious relationship between Messi and Griezmann could have an impact on team cohesiveness. In the end, the target set by Setien in every competition, including the Champions League, will also be disrupted.
Apart from news of friction with Messi, Griezmann’s main problems in his first season with a Barcelona shirt were complex. Starting from the issue of productivity, relations with Messi to different roles in the field.
The sharpness of Griezmann has not been seen this season even though Barcelona has been brought in at a high price. The French striker has scored 14 goals in 40 matches in all competitions.
Griezmann’s number of goals was equivalent to Suarez’s 14 goals but Suarez played less with 26 matches.
Griezmann’s goal was almost twice as low as Messi’s. The 32-year-old striker has collected 26 goals in 34 matches.
With Suarez’s condition often being injured, the burden of scoring practically only rests on Messi’s shoulders. While Griezmann is still not reliable to share the stage with Messi in a match.
Another problem facing by Griezmann is that he is not close enough to Messi. This situation is different when Messi is still working with Suarez and Neymar alias the MSN trio on the front lines.
Messi, Suarez, Neymar are close on and off the pitch. The result of this closeness made the MSN trio’s performance so feared by opposing defenders.
Griezmann did not deny that he was not close to Messi. According to the French striker, Messi has the same personalities as him which is the quiet. These similarities make communication between Griezmann and Messi less fluid.
Another problem that Griezmann also faces is the role on the field and his status within the team. Playing in Barcelona makes Griezmann have to adapt to a variety of new positions.
Griezmann was once placed as a center forward, a left-wing striker, but rarely played as a right-wing striker.
Based on Transfermarkt data, Griezmann was placed 23 times as a left wing attacker, 15 times as a center attacker, and only once as a right wing attacker. Right-wing attackers in Barcelona have become the property of Messi for about the last decade.
Griezmann will actually appear better as a right wing attacker or shadow attacker. The two positions are also often played by 29-year-old attackers when strengthening Real Sociedad, Atletico Madrid, and the French national team.
In these three teams, Griezmann managed to become an important figure for the team and made a major contribution. His figure was even once worshiped at Sociedad and Atletico.
The last thing that made Griezmann’s position difficult at Barcelona was that his name was not as big as when he played at Sociedad or Atletico. Griezmann’s name will never be greater than Messi who has become a legend in Barcelona.
As a result, Griezmann must accept the fact of not playing in his best position because the coach’s concoction will provide as much comfort as possible for Messi.
With these conditions, it is difficult to see Griezmann will remain the first choice or even remain in Barcelona next season. Moreover, Barcelona is also widely reported to want to re-recruit Neymar or bring Lautaro Martinez from Inter Milan.
If that’s the case, Griezmann might end up like Philippe Coutinho on loan at Bayern Munich. Griezmann must be willing to be thrown out because his performance did not match the expectations of management who spent large funds to recruit him.
