PETE JENSON: Antoine Griezmann was the big name refused entry into Lionel Messi’s inner sanctum at Barcelona… the France star has never sought the spotlight but he will take great satisfaction in denying the Argentine his World Cup fairytale on Sunday
When the coronavirus pandemic subsided sufficiently for Barcelona to return to training in May 2020, there was a surprise in store for Antoine Griezmann.
With everyone still wearing masks, and all the cones and footballs being sterilized before sessions, the players had been designated small training groups and it was teenager Ansu Fati who had been grouped with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, and not Griezmann.
Not being asked to train with the other two might seem like a minor detail but at a time when Messi was still the authority at the club it was significant. It was the kind of thing the Argentine could have changed if he wanted to. Griezmann yearned for the sort of acceptance from Messi that Neymar had received before him, but it was never forthcoming.
Things didn’t quite work out between Antoine Griezmann (L) and Lionel Messi (R) at Barcelona
Griezmann never quite earned Messi’s respect in the same way Neymar did at the Nou Camp
There was a contradiction at the heart of his time at Barcelona – he had been expected to replace Neymar and form a new ‘three amigos’ forward line with Suarez and Messi, but he was never really respected in quite the same way.
On Sunday he could ruin the happy ending to Messi’s international career and win his second World Cup. He might take player of the tournament ahead of him too. The pair will embrace post game whatever happens but the Frenchman could be forgiven feeling vindicated if he does come out on top.
It wasn’t personal. Luis Suarez has been Griezmann’s greatest ally at the club helping him settle in, and that meant at times Griezmann did see Messi away from the pitch where the relationship was cordial.
The France star (L) will face off against the Argentina legend (R) in Sunday’s World Cup final
Barcelona put Ansu Fati alongside Suarez and Messi in training sessions rather than Griezmann
Beyond Suarez and Arturo Vidal, Messi had no deep friendship with anyone at the club post-Neymar so Griezmann was no outlier in that sense. But it was on the pitch and at the training ground where it sometimes felt all too clear that Messi was not enamoured.
He had taken the then-17-year-old Fati under his wing, seeing his youth and vibrancy as a better bet for the third piece of Barcelona’s forward line jigsaw.
Griezmann lacked the pace and direct running to open space up for the other two. He had never been that sort of winger in his younger days and even less so in the latter part of his career.
Messi (R), Neymar (C) and Luis Suarez (L) forged a devastating trio before the Brazilian’s exit
Neymar left Barcelona to join Paris Saint-Germain for a record-breaking fee of £198m in 2017
It turns out running a midfield marathon suits him far more than being the sprinting wide forward and Barcelona’s failure to see him as a midfield option is another huge reason for his unsuccessful time at the club.
There was a monumental failure to think outside the box by successive coaches. Why could they not see what Didier Deschamps subsequently saw?
The Barcelona squad at the time lacked options in the middle of the pitch. Sergio Busquets was already fading, Frenkie de Jong had still not adapted, and it was clear Miralem Pjanic was not the solution.
The Frenchman will hope to spoil Messi’s final chance of winning the World Cup on Sunday
Pedri was yet to emerge and Gavi was still in school, the Griezmann option screamed out.
He had the work ethic, he had the all-round game, he had the discipline and sacrifice but despite the fact that he was open to the option, none of the three coaches who managed him tried it.
Messi left Barcelona in 2021 and then it really was other factors impeding Griezmann making it at the club. He lacked the dominant personality to seize the crown.
His laid-back low-key character is perfect for a squad like France’s that doesn’t need any more roosters in the hen house.
But what Barca needed in the wake of Messi’s departure was someone to take charge. They needed someone like Kylian Mbappe who Griezmann now supplies in the national team.
Sunday’s final is being billed as Messi against Mbappe and that will suit Griezmann fine.
The first time he scored a goal at the Camp Nou he managed a brace and celebrated the second one by running to a prepped steward who handed him some glitter which he then preceded to throw in the air. It was a fairly lame attempt at showmanship and it was not repeated.
Now Griezmann is the midfield artisan who leaves the spotlight for others. Winning trophies matters far more and if France are victorious on Sunday he may well win player of the tournament too – that will be huge, especially at the expense of the legend who he just couldn’t bond with at Barcelona.
Didier Deschamps has deployed the 31-year-old as a midfielder throughout the tournament
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