MADRID, Aug 19: As Barcelona continues adjusting to life without Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann gets his best chance yet to take a leading role at the Catalan club.
Griezmann will be making his 101st appearance with Barcelona when the club visits Athletic Bilbao in the second round of the Spanish league on Saturday. The French striker finally has the opportunity to take center stage and become a protagonist in Messi’s absence.
“I hope I get to play another 100 games and carry on giving everything to make history with this club,” Griezmann said. “I want to keep helping the team both on and off the pitch, in attack and defense, and enjoying being at Barça.”
He had some key performances while Messi was still on the team but has never fully met the high expectations that came when he signed from Atlético Madrid for 120 million euros in 2019 (now $140 million), a year after he was the man of the match in the World Cup final won by France.
The 30-year-old Griezmann, who has 35 goals with Barcelona, used to play a secondary role even to Luis Suárez and youngsters such as Ousmane Dembélé and Ansu Fati.
Now he has the competition of Barcelona’s biggest offseason signing, Dutch international Memphis Depay, but coach Ronald Koeman has already hinted they will not be fighting against each other for a starting spot. Koeman said after the preseason that he “liked the connection” between Griezmann and Depay.
Both played well in the team’s 4-2 opening victory against Real Sociedad, which marked the start of Barcelona’s first season without Messi after 17 years. “It was very important to get a win,” said Griezmann.
Barcelona has won 12 of its last 15 league matches against Athletic. (AP)
