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Antoine Griezmann (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃twan ɡʁijɛzman]; born 21 March 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Atlético Madrid and the France national team as a forward.
He began his career at Real Sociedad, making his debut in 2009 and winning the Segunda División title in his first season. Across five seasons there, he scored 52 goals in 201 official matches. In 2014, he transferred to Atlético Madrid for €30 million.
Griezmann was a French youth international, who represented his country at under-19, under-20 and under-21 level. In 2010, he was part of the team that won the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship on home soil. He made his debut for the senior national team in 2014 and played at that year's World Cup, helping France to the quarter-finals. Griezmann was the top scorer and Player of the Tournament at UEFA Euro 2016, where the French were runners-up on home soil, after a 1–0 defeat to Portugal.
For his performances during the course of 2016, he was shortlisted for the Ballon d'Or 2016 Award in which he finished in third place.
Early life
Griezmann was born in the commune of Mâcon in the département of Saône-et-Loire. His father Alain, a town councillor, is of Alsatian descent, hence the Germanic surname. His mother Isabelle, a former hospital cleaner, is of Portuguese descent, and her father Amaro Lopes was a Portuguese footballer for F.C. Paços de Ferreira. Amaro Lopes came to France with his wife Carolina to work in construction in 1957, where Isabelle was born, and he died in 1992 when his grandson was an infant. As a child, Griezmann often spent his holidays in Paços de Ferreira.
Griezmann began his career playing for hometown club UF Mâcon. While there, he embarked on several trials with professional clubs in order to earn a spot in one of their youth academies, but was rejected because clubs questioned his size and lightweight frame.
In 2005, while on trial with Montpellier, Griezmann played in a friendly match against the youth academy of Paris Saint-Germain in Paris, and impressed several clubs, notably Spanish club Real Sociedad, whose scouts were attending the event. Following the match, the club's officials offered Griezmann a one-week trial in San Sebastián, which he accepted. He was later offered a second-week stay at the club. The club then contacted his parents and formally offered the player a youth contract. Griezmann's parents were initially reluctant to have their son move to Spain, but allowed him to make the move after positive reassurances.
Club career
Real Sociedad
When he first arrived at Real Sociedad, Griezmann lodged with the club's French scout while attending school across the border in Bayonne, training in the evenings at the club's headquarters in San Sebastián. It took him time to break into Real Sociedad's first team but after four years in the club's youth system he made his debut, called up by Martín Lasarte for Real Sociedad's 2009–10 pre-season campaign. In the pre-season, he scored five goals in four appearances and an injury to the team's regular left-winger led to Lasarte selecting him for the start of the season (unusually for a youth graduate, bypassing the reserve team altogether).
On 2 September 2009, Griezmann made his competitive debut in the team's Copa del Rey match against Rayo Vallecano appearing as a substitute in the 77th minute of a 2–0 defeat. Four days later, he made his league debut appearing as a substitute in a 0–0 draw with Real Murcia. On 27 September, he made his first professional start and also scored his first professional goal against Huesca in a 2–0 win. Two weeks later, Griezmann scored his second goal of the campaign in a 2–0 win over Salamanca. In November 2009, he scored goals in back-to-back matches against Hércules and Recreativo de Huelva. The goal against the latter club was the only goal of the match. Griezmann appeared consistently in the team for the rest of the season scoring two more goals in wins over Cádiz and Numancia as Real Sociedad earned promotion to La Liga for the 2010–11 season as championship winners.
On 8 April 2010, Griezmann signed his first professional contract agreeing to a five-year deal with the club until 2015 with a release clause of €30 million. Prior to signing the contract, he drew considerable interest from Ligue 1 clubs Lyon, Saint-Étienne and Auxerre. However, having already received considerable first-team playing time with Real, he signed with the Spanish club. Griezmann also drew interest from Premier League clubs Manchester United and Arsenal before signing his contract.
Griezmann made his debut in the Spanish first division on 29 August 2010, in the season's first match. In a post-game interview, he described the occasion as "fulfilling his childhood dream". In the team's first match after the September international break, Griezmann assisted on the equalising goal scored by Raúl Tamudo against Real Madrid. Madrid later won the match 2–1 following a goal from Cristiano Ronaldo. On 25 October, Griezmann scored his first goal in the league in a 3–0 victory over Deportivo de La Coruña. He celebrated the goal by pretending to drive a truck that was parked near the field. A week later, Griezmann scored the opening goal in a 2–1 win over Málaga. In November 2010, Griezmann scored the only goal in the team's 2–1 loss to Hércules. In the team's second match of the new year, he netted the second goal in the team's 4–0 victory over Getafe. After going scoreless in the next nine matches, Griezmann returned to his scoring form in March netting the only goal for Txuri-urdin in the team's 2–1 defeat to Racing Santander. On 17 April, he scored both club goals in a 2–1 win over Sporting de Gijón.
After sitting out the first league match of the 2011–12 campaign, in Griezmann's first competitive match of the season against the defending champions Barcelona two weeks later, he scored the equalising goal in a 2–2 draw.
In the final league game of the 2012–13 campaign, he scored the only goal of the game against Deportivo de La Coruña, securing qualification for the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 2003–04 while also relegating Deportivo.
At the start of the following season, Griezmann scored a volley against Lyon in his home nation of France which helped Real Sociedad qualify for the Champions League group stage (4–0 on aggregate). Another important goal was also a volley, this time against Athletic Bilbao in a Basque derby league match at Anoeta Stadium in January 2014 which ended in a 2–0 victory for Real.
Atlético Madrid
On 28 July 2014, Atlético Madrid reached an agreement with Real Sociedad for the transfer of Griezmann, for a fee believed to be close to his €30 million (£24 million) buy-out clause. He passed the medical examination the same day and signed a six-year contract on 29 July.
Griezmann made his competitive debut in the first leg of the 2014 Supercopa de España on 19 August, a 1–1 draw away to Real Madrid, replacing Saúl after 57 minutes. On 17 September, he scored his first goal for the club, in a Champions League group stage match against Olympiacos, in a game which Atlético eventually lost 3–2. Griezmann netted a brace in a 4–2 win over Córdoba on 1 November, his first league goals for the club. On 21 December 2014, he scored his first La Liga hat-trick as Atlético won 4–1 at Athletic Bilbao, having trailed at half-time. He was the La Liga Player of the Month for January 2015 despite appearing in only three of Atlético's five matches.
On 25 April 2015, Griezmann scored a brace against Elche in a 3–0 home win, bringing him to a total of 22 goals in the league season, overtaking Karim Benzema for the highest total by a French player in a single Spanish top-division campaign. He finished the season with 22 goals in 37 games, and was selected as the only Atlético player and one of three forwards in the Team of the Year at the LFP Awards, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
On 22 August 2015, Griezmann scored the only goal as Atlético began the season with a home victory over promoted Las Palmas. He scored both of the goals on 15 September, as they won at Galatasaray in the Champions League group stage. A week later, he repeated the feat to defeat local neighbours Getafe and put Atlético on top of the league. On 18 October, in his return to Real Sociedad, Griezmann chipped goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli in the ninth minute of a 2–0 win (he did not celebrate the goal).
On 27 February 2016, Griezmann scored the only goal as Atlético won away to Real Madrid. On 13 April, he scored both goals in a 2–0 quarter-final second leg win at the Vicente Calderón Stadium that knocked holders Barcelona out of the Champions League. On 3 May, he scored the decisive away goal against Bayern Munich in the semi-final second leg at the Allianz Arena to send Atlético to the final. Griezmann hit the crossbar with a penalty two minutes into the second half with his team trailing 1–0 against Real Madrid in the Champions League final at Milan's San Siro on 28 May. He scored in the penalty shootout after the match had ended 1–1 after extra time, but Atlético ultimately lost 5–3.
On 23 June 2016, Griezmann signed a new contract with Atlético which will keep him at the club until 2021.
On 1 November 2016, Griezmann scored both of Atlético Madrid's goals (his second goal came in the 93rd minute) in their 2–1 home win against Rostov in a 2016–17 Champions League Group D match (in which he was voted the Player of the Match) to enable Atlético to progress to the round of 16 with two matches to spare. In June 2017, amid speculation that he could leave Atlético after the conclusion of the 2016–17 season, he extended his contract at the club by one year, until 2022.
International career
Youth
Due to playing in Spain, Griezmann went unnoticed by several France youth international coaches. After his success with Real Sociedad, on 23 February 2010, he was named to the France under-19 team to play in two friendly matches against Ukraine. On 2 March, Griezmann made his youth international debut appearing in the team's 0–0 draw with Ukraine. In the return leg two days later, he scored the game-winning goal in the 88th minute to give France a 2–1 victory.
On 7 June 2010, Griezmann was named to coach Francis Smerecki's 18-man squad to participate in the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. In the tournament, he scored two goals and provided an assist in the team's second group stage match against Austria, a 5–0 win, as the national team eventually won the competition on home soil. He was named in the Team of the Tournament.
Due to France's victory at the UEFA Under-19 championship, the nation qualified for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which merited under-20 team appearances for Griezmann. On 28 September 2010, he was called up to the team to participate in friendly matches against Portugal and the reserve team of Italian club Juventus. Griezmann, however, did not appear in either match due to being sent home early after suffering a thigh injury during a training session. The following month, despite still being eligible to appear at under-20 level, he was called up to the under-21 team by coach Erick Mombaerts as a replacement for the injured Gabriel Obertan to play in a friendly match against Russia. Griezmann made his under-21 debut in the match appearing as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 defeat.
After appearing in two matches with the under-21 team, Griezmann returned to under-20 level and made his debut with the team on 9 February 2011 in a 2–1 victory over England at the New Meadow, assisting Clément Grenier's equaliser. On 10 June 2011, he was named to the 21-man squad to participate in the U-20 World Cup. He made his debut in the competition on 30 July 2011 in the team's 4–1 defeat to the hosts Colombia. On 10 August, in France's Round of 16 match against Ecuador, Griezmann scored the game-winning goal in a 1–0 victory.
In November 2012, Griezmann was suspended, along with four other youth players, from France's national teams until 31 December 2013 for disciplinary reasons regarding a late night out before training. During this time, he considered switching allegiance to his ancestral Portugal.
Senior
On 27 February 2014, Griezmann received a call-up to France's senior squad by coach Didier Deschamps to play in a friendly against the Netherlands at the Stade de France. He earned his first cap on 5 March, appearing as a starter in the 2–0 home win and playing the first 68 minutes.
2014 World Cup
On 13 May, he was named in Deschamps' squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. On 1 June, playing against Paraguay in Nice, he scored his first international goal for France, opening a 1–1 draw. He added two more as a late substitute for Olivier Giroud in France's final warm-up match, against Jamaica on 8 June, the final two in an 8–0 win. On 15 June, he was selected to start in France's first match of the World Cup, replacing the injured Franck Ribéry on the left side of Les Bleus' attack as they defeated Honduras 3–0 in Porto Alegre. In the last 16 against Nigeria, his pressure led to Joseph Yobo scoring a late own goal for a 2–0 French victory; France were eliminated in the quarter-finals by eventual champions Germany.
Euro 2016
Griezmann was chosen for France as they hosted UEFA Euro 2016, and started the opening game, a 2–1 win over Romania. For their performances, he and Paul Pogba were benched for the next game against Albania at the Stade Vélodrome; Griezmann came on in place of Giroud in the second half and headed Adil Rami's cross with the first shot on target in the last minute to open a 2–0 win. In the last 16 against the Republic of Ireland in Lyon, he scored twice as the French recovered from a half-time deficit to win 2–1, and was also fouled by Shane Duffy who was given a straight red card. On 3 July, Griezmann assisted Pogba and Dimitri Payet before scoring himself in a 5–2 quarter-final win over Iceland; it was his first goal at the Stade de France. In the semi-finals against Germany four days later, he scored twice in a 2–0 victory to lead France to their third European Championship final. Following a 1–0 defeat to Portugal in the final on 10 July, Griezmann won the Golden Boot as the tournament's top scorer, with six goals and two assists in seven games, and was named the tournament's best player, also being named to the team of the tournament. His tally at the tournament was second only to the nine goals by compatriot Michel Platini at Euro 1984.
Style of play
UEFA chief technical officer Ioan Lupescu, who led the panel of technical observers that named Griezmann as the best player of Euro 2016, said that he "works hard for his team and possesses technique, vision and quality finishing" and branded him "a threat in every game he played". A quick, modern, and versatile left-footed forward, with an eye for goal, Griezmann has been described as a "team player", and is capable of occupying several offensive positions in or behind the main attacking line, due to his technical skills, ability to drop deep and link-up play between the forwards and midfielders, or score many goals: he has been deployed as a main striker, in a central role as an attacking midfielder, or as a winger, on either flank. Griezmann is an accurate finisher with either foot from both inside and outside the area, and is also good in the air and accurate with his head, in spite of his relatively small stature. In addition to his ability to both score and create goals, he has also been praised for his work-rate, attacking movement, positional sense, and ability to interpret the game, which, combined with his pace, mobility and energy, enables him to make effective attacking runs to beat the defensive line. He is also accurate from penalties and set-pieces.
Outside football
Griezmann features on the cover of the French edition of FIFA 16 alongside global cover star Lionel Messi, having been selected for the role by public vote. Ahead of Euro 2016, Griezmann featured in advertisements for Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, alongside Harry Kane, Mario Götze and Cesc Fàbregas.
Griezmann and his partner had their first child, a daughter, in April 2016. His sister Maude was a survivor of the siege of the Bataclan theatre in the November 2015 Paris attacks, which took place as he was playing against Germany at the Stade de France. His sister is studying to be his image rights manager, and his younger brother Theo plays for Sporting Mâcon, the local Portuguese club.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 12 September 2017
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Real Sociedad | 2009–10 | Segunda División | 39 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 6 | ||
| 2010–11 | La Liga | 37 | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 7 | |||
| 2011–12 | 35 | 7 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 38 | 8 | ||||
| 2012–13 | 34 | 10 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 35 | 11 | ||||
| 2013–14 | 35 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 1 | — | 50 | 20 | |||
| Total | 180 | 46 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 1 | — | 201 | 52 | |||
| Atlético Madrid | 2014–15 | La Liga | 37 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 53 | 25 |
| 2015–16 | 38 | 22 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 7 | — | 54 | 32 | |||
| 2016–17 | 36 | 16 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 6 | — | 53 | 26 | |||
| 2017–18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 112 | 60 | 13 | 8 | 35 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 162 | 83 | ||
| Career total | 292 | 106 | 26 | 13 | 43 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 363 | 135 | ||
International
- As of match played 3 September 2017
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 2014 | 14 | 5 |
| 2015 | 10 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 15 | 8 | |
| 2017 | 6 | 3 | |
| Total | 45 | 17 | |
International goals
- As of match played 3 September 2017. France score listed first, score column indicates score after each Griezmann goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 June 2014 | Allianz Riviera, Nice, France | 3 |  Paraguay | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 8 June 2014 | Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France | 4 |  Jamaica | Friendly | ||
| 3 | |||||||
| 4 | 14 October 2014 | Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia | 12 |  Armenia | 3–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 5 | 14 November 2014 | Stade de la Route de Lorient, Rennes, France | 13 |  Albania | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 6 | 8 October 2015 | Allianz Riviera, Nice, France | 21 | Armenia | 1–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 7 | 25 March 2016 | Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands | 25 |  Netherlands | 1–0 | 3–2 | Friendly |
| 8 | 15 June 2016 | Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France | 29 | Albania | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2016 |
| 9 | 26 June 2016 | Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Lyon, France | 31 |  Republic of Ireland | UEFA Euro 2016 | ||
| 10 | |||||||
| 11 | 3 July 2016 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France | 32 |  Iceland | 4–0 | 5–2 | UEFA Euro 2016 |
| 12 | 7 July 2016 | Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France | 33 |  Germany | UEFA Euro 2016 | ||
| 13 | |||||||
| 14 | 7 October 2016 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France | 37 |  Bulgaria | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 15 | 25 March 2017 | Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg | 40 |  Luxembourg | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 16 | 2 June 2017 | Roazhon Park, Rennes, France | 42 | Paraguay | 5–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
| 17 | 31 August 2017 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France | 44 | Netherlands | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Club
- Real Sociedad
- Segunda División: 2009–10
- Atlético Madrid
- Supercopa de España: 2014
- UEFA Champions League: Runner-up 2015–16
International
- France
- UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship: 2010
- UEFA European Championship: Runner-up 2016
Individual
- Ballon d'Or – Third-place: 2016
- The Best FIFA Men's Player – Third-place: 2016
- UEFA European Under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2010
- La Liga Best Player: 2016
- La Liga Player of the Month: January 2015, April 2015, September 2016, March 2017
- La Liga Team of the Season: 2014–15
- Onze d'Or French Player of the Year: 2014–15
- Trophées UNFP for Best French Player playing Abroad: 2016
- UEFA Champions League Team of the Season: 2015–16, 2016–17
- UEFA European Championship Player of the Tournament: 2016
- UEFA European Championship Golden Boot: 2016
- UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 2016
- UEFA Team of the Year: 2016
- UEFA Best Player in Europe Award: 2016 (2nd place)
- French Player of the Year: 2016
- La Liga Fans' Five Star Player: 2016