Atletico hero Griezmann coy on future
Striker sidesteps Barca questions as brilliant brace bags Europa title
LYON, France — Antoine Griezmann said it was not the time to think about his future after leading Atletico Madrid to a 3-0 victory over Marseille in Wednesday’s Europa League final in Lyon.
“Now is not the time to talk about my future. I need to just enjoy this moment, having won a title, and celebrate it with the fans,” Griezmann said after picking up the man-ofthe-match award for scoring the Spanish side’s first two goals.
The France star has been tipped to leave Atletico at the end of the season after four years in the Spanish capital, with speculation mounting that he will join Barcelona.
He got the opener midway through the first half and then netted a superb second four minutes after the break.
The 27-year-old also played a part in the build-up to Gabi’s late goal that sealed the win.
“It is a dream for me to win a title. We had a chance in the Champions League and it wasn’t to be, but this time it was my turn,” said the striker, who had not previously won a major trophy with the club.
He was a member of the Atletico squad that lost on penalties to Real Madrid in the 2016 Champions League final and he was also a runner-up at the European Championship with France that summer.
Wednesday’s win came against Marseille, the club he idolized as a youngster, but he said beating his boyhood team did not in any way take the shine off his evening.
“It’s not hard, because I am selfish. I had lost finals, I left home at 14 to win titles and today I had the chance to win a trophy,” Griezmann said.
“I am proud of the season Marseille have had, of their fans who on their own almost filled the whole stadium, and of (coach) Rudi Garcia and what he has done with that team.”
If he does leave for Barca this summer, Wednesday’s final was a fitting end to his Atletico career.
Griezmann — brought up in Macon near Lyon — now has 29 goals this season.
“This is a reward for me after I left home at 14, for all the work I have put in, the pain and suffering,” said the former Real Sociedad forward, whose only previous trophy was the Spanish Super Cup despite spending his whole career in Spain.
Atletico won the Europa League in 2010 and again in 2012, the latter coming just six months after Diego Simeone’s appointment as coach.
Simeone, who had to watch from the stands due to a touchline ban, called the victory a reward for his side’s hard work and even expressed hope that Griezmann could be convinced to stay.
“This was just confirmation of what Griezmann has been doing year after year,” said the Argentine.
“I hope he is happy with us. I have no doubt that there are certain things that could make it more likely that he stays.
“He has played three finals with us, has won two, and so that shows that he is not far away from his objective of regularly playing finals.
“We are not far away, in sporting terms, from teams who are more powerful than us.”
celebrates scoring his second goal of the match in Wednesday’s 3-0 victory over Marseille in the Europa League final in Lyon, France.