LaLiga de España started this Monday and Antoine Griezmann is their biggest draw. The Atlético de Madrid forward is poised for a promising season and the win over Granada on Matchday 1 could be a hint of what’s to come for his side.
Griezmann and his team are hoping to keep up their pace and need another three points against Real Betis this Sunday (12:30pm PT, ESPN+ / ESPN Deportes).
But his attention is not only on the Spanish championship, but also on the development of superstar Lionel Messi, who played in Spain between 2003 and 2021.
Since making his debut for Inter Miami in the League Cup on July 21, Messi has scored nine goals in six games to take his side to Saturday’s tournament final against Nashville.
“I follow him. “Leo is the best in history, he fills all the stadiums and wins all the games,” Griezmann said on Wednesday at a press conference chaired by ESPN’s Fernando Palomo, which will broadcast all LaLiga games. “They’re going to play Nashville. I think that’s the best thing MLS has done right now to help the sport grow.”
Griezmann, 32, has spoken of his desire to win more titles with his club but would like to do so in MLS before the end of his career as he has interests in other sports in the US.
“I’ve always said my goal is to end up there so I like sport but first I want to keep making history and win with Atlético but yeah it’s still a goal to end up in MLS and it enjoy the other leagues that are out there,” said the Frenchman, who played alongside Messi in Barcelona and faced him in the final of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which Argentina won.
The winner of the 2018 World Cup in Russia highlighted the growth and attention MLS is giving to the promises of the future.
“There are younger signings coming from South America and it’s the best thing they can do to get people to like them more and follow them more.”
Such is the love for sports in the United States that Griezmann is part of several fantasy groups, and not just in football, something he plans to explore further if there is a potential transfer from Europe to the United States in the future .
“I really like baseball, NFL, NBA, I do a lot of fantasy, I think I should have a three or four in football, in baseball I shot one this year, I have two in the NBA, I.” there all day and pay attention to the results of all players,” said the player. “Then you see things, movements, for example in American football, the paths that receivers can take when they go, the vision that they can have in the game.”
Referring to baseball, he said it’s a “very complicated sport” and he enjoys the challenge of learning more and more, making it one of the activities that drives his son to experiment with his development.
“I throw soccer balls to my four-year-old son and bought him a bat so he can play baseball. He has a basket for basketball there and also a goal in case he hits football.”
Last season Atlético de Madrid had a great finish but failed to win the title. This year seems promising and the team led by Diego Simeone seems to have the way clear.
Since the 2003/04 season, when Valencia CF won the tournament, Real Madrid and Barcelona have dominated the league, with Atlético de Madrid being the only ones to win the tournament twice. This season it seems that ‘Cholo’ eleventh has an opportunity to win it all before many stars depart, particularly at Real Madrid and Barcelona, the champions of the 2022-23 season.
“Last year it was difficult for us at first, but after the World Cup people went on vacation and came back full of energy to improve the club’s situation,” explained Griezmann. “The pre-season wasn’t the best in terms of travel, but things went better for us after the second half of the season. We’ve already started this season better and I think we can do as well as we can.”
