Antoine Griezmann is an eccentric character. From announcing his new contract with Atletico Madrid with some sort of film trailer on Twitter to his strange love for Uruguay, things are never simple for one of the best forwards in world football.
The Frenchman, having been born in Macon has represented France at three youth levels before making the step up to the senior team. 65 caps and one World Cup win later, Griezmann is most definitely French, so why on earth does he have an obsession with Uruguay, a country located 6,527 miles from his homeland?
Griezmann’s obsession reached new levels at the World Cup when he didn’t celebrate against them after scoring in their crunch quarter-final clash. Then after France won the World Cup, the 27-year-old was wrapped in a Uruguayan flag in his post-match press conference.
After the game, Griezmann explained his love for the South American country:
“I didn’t celebrate because when I started as a professional I was supported by a Uruguayan who taught me the good and the bad in football and I have a lot of respect for Uruguay. I was also playing against friends, so I thought it was normal not to celebrate.”
His link with Uruguay goes back to when he was a young footballer. His mentors were Martin Lasarte (manager) and Carlos Bueno (senior player) at Real Sociedad and he has now become incredibly close friends with Diego Godin, his Atletico Madrid teammate.
He now tweets his support of Uruguay when he is not playing and is clearly a big supporter of the side, but friends and mentors aside, he has no link to the country.