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 and set to formally join Major League Soccer (MLS) club Orlando City SC as a Designated Player. Considered one of the best players of his generation, he is primarily known for his versatility, game intelligence, attacking output, and off-ball attributes. He will formally join Major League Soccer club Orlando City in July 2026.

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 an attacking midfielder as France finished runners-up. He retired from international football in 2024.

In the final league game of the 2012–13 campaign, he scored the only goal of the game against Deportivo La Coruña, securing qualification for the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 2003–04 while also relegating Deportivo.

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. He made his 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, his first league goals for the club, in a 4–2 win over Córdoba on 1 November. 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.

Source: Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License