Atletico Madrid will begin a new Champions League campaign this Thursday. This one could have a very special flavor for Madrid fans. According to several Spanish media, Antoine Griezmann, the club’s top scorer, is indeed thinking about turning his back on the Colchoneros at the end of the season.
The Mâconnais is certainly under contract with Atletico Madrid until June 2026, but according to Estadio Deportivo a departure as early as next summer would increasingly be the order of the day. This is due to a certain weariness and the pressure from his two main suitors in MLS. Antoine Griezmann has never hidden his desire to end his career across the Atlantic and two franchises have been working for several months to attract him: Los Angeles FC, where Olivier Giroud and Hugo Lloris already play, and San Diego FC.
Antoine Griezmann, the 2026 World Cup in the back of his mind
If Antoine Griezmann would be all the more tempted by a departure next summer, as it would allow Atletico Madrid to receive a transfer fee, the Madrid leaders would nonetheless like to see him continue at Atletico Madrid until the end of his contract, in June 2026. And the same is true of the supporters, who do not hide their disappointment on social networks at the idea of seeing the man who became the club’s history’s top scorer last season leave.
Many messages thus flourished on Tuesday to express their bitterness and urge the Madrid number 7 to stay at Atletico. All is not lost for the Colchoneros. The reason? The 2026 World Cup. Despite his current difficulties with the Blues, where he now seems reduced to a luxury substitute role, Antoine Griezmann could indeed be tempted to stay in Spain to best prepare for this World Cup which will take place largely in the United States.
