Antoine Griezmann: 'The Spaniard' adopted early
The face of Atlético Madrid's number seven was on the front cover of the most recent edition of France Football, where he opened up on his career and life.
Antoine Griezmann is the face of the latest issue of France Football, the magazine known around for the Ballon d'Or awards. On the cover is a photo of the Atlético Madrid player, framed with the colours of the Spanish flag and with a very direct headline: 'L'Espagñol'.
Griezmann the Spaniard
The headline clearly catches the eye, as 'the Spaniard' in question is the man who lifted the World Cup last year for France. But it is a clear reference to the strong bond that connects the striker with the country where he now lives, and has done since the age of 13.
"When France didn't see his talent, Spain was dazzled by his touch of the ball and offered him the chance of developing his footballing career," we are told in the article. Relatives and others close to Griezmann, as well as journalists, formed part of the piece.
"France brought me into the world, but Spain adopted me," Antoine goes on to say, about not only his career but his life in general.
"I learned to play with one or two touches. You do that every day and it becomes a part of you. I think more, I anticipate more. Spain taught me how to play simple."
"He thinks in Spanish, he dreams in Spanish. He loves his life there," says his sister Maud. "In five months he was already bilingual," recalls the man who discovered him, Eric Olhats.
"It may sound like a cliché, but Antoine always trains in shorts, he likes to eat late, he enjoys the sunshine in his garden," added Arnaud Ramsay, author of his biography. "Spain allows these kind of things."