I’m
not holding back at all this week.
The
player I’m writing about has forever sullied his legacy by making the weakest
transfer move I have ever witnessed.
This
player is a perennial Ballon d’Or contender, the MVP and top scorer of Euro
2016, a World Cup champion who was third in the tournament’s MVP rankings,
arguably the world’s best player at his position, and had been the best player
on one of the best club teams on the planet.
So
what does he do?
Of
course, he chooses to run away from the challenges he is faced with and join
forces with an immediate rival, both domestically and in the Champions League.
As
great of a player as he is, I am so appalled by this transfer that after I
mention his name for the first time, I will not do so for the rest of the post.
I will channel my inner Skip Bayless and refer to him by his jersey number.
You
might already have guessed that I’m referring to Antoine Griezmann, who has
just left Atlético Madrid for Barcelona. It cost Barça €120 million, the
fifth-highest transfer fee of all time, to land #17.
However,
that’s irrelevant. #17 forced his way out of the Wanda Metropolitano, making a
transfer request after spending five years at the Madrid club.
Despite
clearly having the game and the squad around him to be able to lead Atlético to
the top, the man from Bourgogne chose to take the easy way out, joining forces
with a direct rival and teaming up with Leo Messi and company.
Here
are the reasons as to why I consider #17’s move to Catalonia to be truly
pathetic.
1)
He was already on a genuine Champions League contender.
Over
the five seasons that #17 was at Atlético, the club was never ranked lower than
sixth in pre-tournament club coefficient. What’s more, they were ranked second
before last season’s campaign, while Barça had been ranked fourth. They also
generally lived up to expectations, reaching the quarterfinals in 2015, final
in 2016, and semifinals in 2017. Since Atlético were already among the title
contenders with #17 on their roster, it’s obvious that he chose the easy way
out.
2)
His motives were different.
Consider
the other major transfers of the current off-season.
João
Felix, Frenkie de Jong, Lucas Hernandez, and Luka Jović are all young players
trying to break out as superstars at a major club.
Eden
Hazard wanted to escape the toxic, dysfunctional, untenable atmosphere at
Chelsea.
#17
is in the prime of his career at 28 and had been playing for perhaps the
best-run club in the world. He simply wanted to ride Messi’s coattails to an
easy Champions League title.
3)
He signed for a team which has recently bested his own team often.
Over
the five years during which #17 was at Atlético, they twice finished second
behind Barça in La Liga. In fact, during this time, Atlético never finished
ahead of the Catalan club in the league. They were also knocked out of the Copa
del Rey by Barça twice.
Thus,
it’s a really bad look for him to sign for Barça.
4)
There were no other reasons for him to leave.
Star
player for a superbly-run Champions League contender? Check.
Lucrative
endorsement deals? Check.
Enormous
salary? Check.
Big-market
team in a place with a favourable lifestyle? Check.
He
was in what was close to an ideal situation – and left anyway.
The
only other transfer I can think of that exhibited this level of mental weakness
was Luís Figo’s departure from Barça to then-reigning Champions League
champions Real Madrid, a transfer which marked the beginning of Real’s iconic
“Galácticos” era.
For
what it’s worth, I cannot wait for Barça’s next away match against Atlético.
Certainly,
every time #17 touches the ball, the Atlético fans will unleash every last bit
of their pent-up rage and frustration on their former ace who turned his back
on them. They will surely greet him with a fusillade of richly-deserved boos,
jeers, and heckles.
Regardless
of the outcome of that match, it will definitely be something extraordinary to
witness, and an Atlético win would be especially sweet - #17 will have received
his due comeuppance.
No comments:
Post a Comment