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Lionel Messi’s exit may bring the best out of Griezmann

12/09/23
Lionel Messi’s exit may bring the best out of Griezmann
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The fact that Lionel Messi is not returning to Barcelona is just settling into the minds of football fans worldwide.

There seemed to be a school of thought that the Catalan giants would find a way to resign the star.

However, the stark reality of Barcelona’s financial problems has meant that there was no way of Messi returning for the new season. It is a massive blow for the club from Catalonia.

One player who could benefit from Messi’s exit is France international forward Antoine Griezmann.

The 30-year-old joined from Atletico Madrid for €120 million in 2019. At Atletico, he was the main man when it came to their attacking play. He shone for much of his five years spell in the capital.

No doubt he was their star player in his last few years with Diego Simeone’s team.

His move to Barcelona saw him immediately fall into the shadow of Messi, as most attacking players did in recent years with the Blaugrana.

Griezmann had to adapt to fit into a system that was based around Messi. The Frenchman was almost shackled and struggled to find his best form at Barcelona.

His understanding with Messi improved over time, but there was still a sense that Griezmann was not given the same freedom he enjoyed at Atletico.

It was that freedom that allowed him to be so effective for the club from the Spanish capital.

This is Griezmann’s chance to prove to everybody connected with the Catalan club that he is not a big-money flop, as Barcelona need him to step up after Messi’s exit.

Now that The Argentinian has left and will not be returning, it could well bring out the best from the French international star. If it does not, then nothing will.

La Liga
OVERALL TABLE PTS GP W D L +/-
1
Real Madrid 84 33 26 6 1 49
2
Barcelona 73 33 22 7 4 29
3
Girona 71 33 22 5 6 29
4
Atlético Madrid 64 33 20 4 9 23
5
Athletic Bilbao 58 33 16 10 7 20
6
Real Sociedad 51 33 13 12 8 11
7
Real Betis 49 33 12 13 8 2
8
Valencia 47 33 13 8 12 -1
9
Villarreal 45 33 12 9 12 -1
10
Getafe 43 33 10 13 10 -4
11
Osasuna 39 33 11 6 16 -12
12
Deportivo Alavés 38 33 10 8 15 -7
13
Sevilla 38 33 9 11 13 -4
14
Las Palmas 37 33 10 7 16 -11
15
Rayo Vallecano 34 33 7 13 13 -15
16
Real Mallorca 32 33 6 14 13 -12
17
Celta Vigo 31 33 7 10 16 -13
18
Cadiz 26 33 4 14 15 -23
19
Granada CF 21 33 4 9 20 -25
20
UD Almería 14 33 1 11 21 -35

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