‘I didn’t realise how much love I had here, I was very young, and well, I made a mistake.’
MADRID: Antoine Griezmann bade farewell to Atletico Madrid fans on Sunday after playing his final home match for the club, and apologised again for his decision to leave for Barcelona in 2019.
The 35-year-old is joining MLS side Orlando City at the end of the season after 10 seasons with the Rojiblancos, split in two by an ill-fated move to join the Catalan giants.
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Griezmann gave a speech on the pitch after Atletico beat Girona 1-0 in La Liga, with the French forward setting up the only goal for Ademola Lookman.
“I know many of you have (forgiven me), but some still haven’t, so I apologise again,” said Griezmann at a packed Metropolitano stadium.
“I didn’t realise how much love I had here, I was very young, and well, I made a mistake.
“I reconsidered and we did everything to come back here and enjoy it again,” he said.
Griezmann joined Atletico from Real Sociedad in 2014 as a left winger but became a world-class striker under coach Diego Simeone.
The forward is Atletico’s all-time top goalscorer with 212 strikes in 500 matches for them. He arrived at the stadium for the match visibly emotional.
“I want to thank all my teammates from 2014 until today,” continued Griezmann.
“It’s incredible to share everything with them. Every battle, every victory, and every defeat,” he said.
The forward also thanked his family, the club’s staff, and coach Simeone, saying the Argentine had “changed everything” for Atletico.
Simeone led Atletico to La Liga titles in 2014 and 2021, but Griezmann arrived after the first and was at Barca when they secured the second.
Griezmann’s only major trophy with Atletico was the 2018 Europa League, which he lifted before triumphing with France at the World Cup in Russia that summer.
Atletico greats including Fernando Torres and Diego Godin appeared to take part in the celebrations of the forward’s career, along with his family and president Enrique Cerezo.
“Today is Antoine’s day – he’s surely the best any of us have seen here with our own eyes,” said Torres.
Simeone echoed Torres’s words. “You arrived playing on the wing and we put you in the middle, and you became insatiable for goals,” said the coach.
“You have something that’s contagious for your team-mates, and it took you to the place you deserve,” he added.
