Antoine Griezmann has admitted he is following Lionel Messi’s extraordinary feat at Inter Miami, with the Atletico Madrid forward saying he still hopes to finish his playing career in MLS.
Lionel Messi has scored in every Inter Miami game so far with nine goals in six games, including Tuesday’s 4-1 win over Philadelphia Union to reach the League Cup final.
“Yes, I follow [Messi],” Griezmann said during a virtual press conference organized by LaLiga and ESPN to mark the start of the new LaLiga season, as quoted by ESPN.
“Leo is the best in history. He fills the stadium, he scores goals and he wins games.
“He’s been amazing and I think it’s the best thing MLS has done for Leo, in terms of marketing and football.”
Griezmann was one of the best players in LaLiga last season, scoring 15 goals and providing 16 assists while bringing Atletico Madrid to third place behind Barcelona and Real Madrid.
The France international says he still hopes to ‘make history’ at Atletico Madrid, but is clearly keen to try his luck in the US.
“I always say it,” said Griezmann.
“My goal is to end up there, with everything I love about American sports, to play in MLS and have fun, to be able to win things and be at my best level.”
“First I want to make history here and win trophies at Atleti. After that we’ll see… I think the arrivals of Leo [Messi], ‘Busi’ [Sergio Busquets] and Jordi [Alba] are good for the league. That and signing players who younger guys, especially from South America, that’s the best thing the league can do.”
Griezmann would not rule out a top player’s move to Saudi Arabia saying “if it happens to me I will have to talk about it with my family and my children… They are very high [salary] figures, they can give you security” – but said he is now focused on challenging for the LaLiga title, a trophy he has yet to win, with Atletico.
“I want to improve, score goals, be important, win the league and be out there fighting for the Champions League,” said Griezmann.
“You have all those targets, and for me personally it’s about improving from last year, and scoring 16 or 17 goals which would make me the top scorer in the history of the club. That’s something that excites me.”
Griezmann said he sympathized with team-mate João Félix, who was whistled by Atletico fans before Monday’s 3-1 win over Granada after publicly announcing his interest in joining Barcelona.
“I experienced it [when he went to Barca in 2019],” explained Griezmaan. “I hurt the club. The best thing I did was stay quiet, work hard and try to get back to the plan of the boss [Diego Simeone] and the club. That’s all I can say.
“Let’s hope this gets resolved for everyone, for the club, for João and for us in the locker room, and we can move forward. It’s not easy for him and you can see that.”
