The Manchester United and Barcelona transfer target arrived in his hometown of Macon to be greeted by 2,000 proud neighbours. The forward was joined by his partner and his daughter Mia, as well as his parents who can claim some credit for the Russia 2018 win. Griezmann fired home a controversial penalty in the Moscow showpiece after the referee consulted VAR. The young and multicultural France team have been posting inspiring videos from their dressing room, filmed before and after the 4-2 triumph.
Paul Pogba gave a rousing speech before goalkeeper Hugo Lloris led the side out to victory.And the Man United star helped lead the post-match party with a song namechecking all the players, accompanied with a drum beat bashed out on a kit box. Griezmann has committed his future to Atletico Madrid and flirting with Jose Mourinho and Old Trafford, before refusing the chance to link up with Pogba for club, as well as country.
Two days before the FIFA World Cup finals started, the France international announced in a tournament press conference he had made up his mind about where he was going to play next season, but he added the tease “now is not the moment” to clarify which club it was with—Atletico or Barcelona.
A couple of days later, he tweeted a video message—#LaDecision—saying he would reveal all that evening on a programme to be televised on a subscription channel. In a message, he added the rider: “You’re fed up with all the talk—am I going? Am I staying? How much will they pay me? How much won’t they pay me? But the truth is what I’m going to say now…”
Gerard Pique, who was set to play for Spain the next day in their opening World Cup match against Portugal, shared the tweet and added a popcorn emoji. The Barcelona defender had skin in the game. It was his production company, Kosmos, that was behind the film. It had obvious echoes of ESPN’s 2010 programme, The Decision, which charted LeBron James’ move between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat.
Griezmann’s documentary had two endings. An hour before being broadcast, Movistar received the ending the striker’s entourage had chosen, per Spanish football expert Guillem Balague.Cameras followed him over a couple of end-of-season months while he agonised over his decision. The film was an extraordinary piece of theatre. It screamed of self-indulgence and reached ingenious heights to make the material stretch over 30 minutes. He was filmed in a car talking to camera, shooting hoops with his brother and having lunch amid a majestic French countryside with his family.
“Turning down Barcelona? It was my decision and I am proud of it, now I am excited about the year ahead with Atletico,” he told reporters when he signed a new contract with Atletico Madrid.
“It is not long until I compete for the European Super Cup and we obviously will want to win that too.I just want to savour this (World Cup) victory with France and the French people, then to enjoy my holiday and be able to relax.I am really happy and for all my teammates too, it was a wonderful experience.”