Coveted by Saudi Arabia last summer, Antoine Griezmann refused a real golden bridge to stay at Atletico Madrid.
Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kanté, Neymar, Sadio Mané, Riyad Mahrez or Kalidou Koulibaly… The exodus to Saudi Arabia was massive. Departures most often motivated by the financial aspect, the Saudi clubs having spared no expense to attract the elite of European football. Himself approached at the start of the summer, Antoine Griezmann easily recognized that the offers made by the Saudi clubs were food for thought.
“Depending on the level of each person and beyond the sporting projects, the duration of a player’s career is 12 or 13 years if all goes well, because football ends at 35. We must ask ourselves whether to accept these offers if they ever come to the table. Right now I’m enjoying where I am, but the offers from Saudi Arabia are very, very important and can determine the life of your family,” he confided at the time of the resumption of La Liga.
Going a little deeper into Atletico history
And the Mâconnais speaks with full knowledge of the facts. To attract him, Saudi Arabia was indeed ready to offer him XXL emoluments which would have allowed him to triple his salary. According to Sports Zone, Antoine Griezmann would have refused an annual salary of 34,260,000 dollars, or 32,420,000 euros. But the former Barcelona player had other priorities. Once again fully fulfilled at Atletico Madrid, the French world champion has set himself the goal of entering a little more into the history of Atletico Madrid and its supporters.
“There were calls, touches…, he recently explained. But I am 15 goals away from the historic record for the number of goals scored at the club (Griezmann is now at 160 goals, the record held by Luis Aragonés is 172 goals). I told my sister that we weren’t moving, to break this record. It took me a while to be reintegrated into the supporters too so it wasn’t the time to leave. »
