Antoine Griezmann

Antoine Griezmann (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃twan ɡʁijɛzman]; born 21 March 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward or attacking midfielder for La Liga club Atlético Madrid. Considered one of the greatest players of his generation, he is known for his versatility, match intelligence, attacking output, and off-ball attributes.

Griezmann began his senior club career with Real Sociedad, winning the Segunda División in his first season. In 2014, he joined Atlético Madrid for a then-club record €30 million and won the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, Supercopa de España, and La Liga Best Player. He was nominated for the Ballon d'Or and Best FIFA Men's Player in 2016 and 2018. In 2019, Griezmann was the subject of a record association football transfer when he signed for Barcelona in a transfer worth €120 million, becoming the fifth-most expensive player of all time. There, he won a Copa del Rey, before returning to Atlético Madrid in 2021, becoming the club's all-time top goalscorer.

Griezmann won the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Championship with France and made his senior debut in 2014. He went on to earn 137 caps and score 44 goals, ranking as France's third-most capped player and fourth-highest goalscorer as well as the leading assist provider. Griezmann was the top goalscorer and named Player of the Tournament as hosts France finished runners-up at UEFA Euro 2016. He then won the Silver Boot, the Bronze Ball, and was named man of the match in the final as France won the 2018 FIFA World Cup. At the 2022 World Cup, Griezmann played as a central midfielder as France finished runners-up. He retired from international football in 2024.

Antoine Griezmann was born on 21 March 1991 in the commune of Mâcon in the department of Saône-et-Loire. His father, Alain Griezmann, a town councillor, has distant German ancestry from the regions of Hesse, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Baden. This German ancestor, the father's great-great-grandfather, named Emmerich Grieszmann, migrated to France from Münster in the early 19th century and was a basket maker, married to Maria Haas from Kehlen, Luxembourg. The family surname was originally spelled "Grieszmann", before being changed to "Griezmann". His mother, Isabelle Lopes, a former hospital staff member supervising the cleaning team, is of Portuguese descent, and her father Amaro Lopes was a Portuguese footballer for Paços de Ferreira. Amaro Lopes moved from Portugal 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, Portugal.

Griezmann began his career playing for hometown club UF Mâconnais. While there, he embarked on several trials with professional clubs, including Lyon, the club he supported as a child, to earn a spot in one of their youth academies, but was rejected because clubs questioned his small 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.

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 against 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 league 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. As he developed with a Basque club, he was also potentially available to play for local rivals Athletic Bilbao, in spite of being born and growing up in the non-Basque areas of France.

Griezmann made his debut in La Liga 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 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, scoring the only goal for Sociedad in the team's 2–1 defeat to Racing Santander.