Atletico Madrid ace, Antoine Griezmann has disclosed that he rejected a move to Barcelona because he doesn’t want to be captain, Lionel Messi’s lieutenant at Camp Nou.
Griezmann opted to reject an £87million move to the Catalan club in June, and committed his future to Atletico.
The French international decided to stay with Atletico, and extended his contract to 2023.
Barcelona then had to settle for the Brazilian winger, Malcom, who was signed from French Ligue 1 side, Bordeaux.
“Was it hard to refuse Barca? It was very difficult,” Givemesport quoted Griezmann as saying. “You have Barca who wants you, who calls you, who sends messages.
“But then there is the club where you are, where you are an important player and where they build a project around you.
“And subconsciously, being Messi’s lieutenant may have played a part.
“But my team-mates and people at the club [Atleti] did everything, they came to talk to me, they increased my salary.
“They did everything to show that it was my home and that I shouldn’t leave. It was really complicated times, especially for my wife where I woke her up at 3am to talk about it!”
Griezmann will hope to lead Atletico Madrid to victory when they host Barcelona this weekend in a La Liga fixture.
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