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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 94 37 29 7 1 61
2
Barcelona 82 37 25 7 5 34
3
Girona 78 37 24 6 7 32
4
Atlético Madrid 73 37 23 4 10 25
5
Athletic Bilbao 65 37 18 11 8 23
6
Real Sociedad 60 37 16 12 9 14
7
Real Betis 56 37 14 14 9 3
8
Villarreal 52 37 14 10 13 0
9
Valencia 48 37 13 9 15 -5
10
Deportivo Alavés 45 37 12 9 16 -10
11
Osasuna 44 37 12 8 17 -11
12
Getafe 43 37 10 13 14 -11
13
Sevilla 41 37 10 11 16 -5
14
Celta Vigo 40 37 10 10 17 -11
15
Las Palmas 39 37 10 9 18 -14
16
Rayo Vallecano 38 37 8 14 15 -18
17
Real Mallorca 37 37 7 16 14 -12
18
Cadiz 33 37 6 15 16 -24
19
Granada CF 21 37 4 9 24 -34
20
UD Almería 18 37 2 12 23 -37

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