Madrid, March 23: Atletico Madrid‘s star forward Antoine Griezmann is set to leave the club at the end of the current season to join Orlando City.
According to major sports newspapers in Spain, including Diario AS, Sport, and El Mundo Deportivo, Griezmann has been granted permission to travel to the United States during the ongoing international break to sign his contract with Orlando City. Club sources have also confirmed this transfer.
A source stated on Monday, “Antoine Griezmann has been allowed by his club to go to Orlando during his holiday days to advance discussions about his future.”
Griezmann is Atletico Madrid’s all-time top scorer with 211 goals. Additionally, he is the fourth player with the most appearances in the club’s history, having played a total of 488 matches over ten seasons.
Reports from Xinhua suggest that speculation about Griezmann leaving Atletico Madrid began in February when the Major League Soccer (MLS) transfer window opened. However, the 35-year-old’s impressive form and the fact that Atletico is still in the Champions League and has reached the Copa del Rey final this season motivated him to stay with the team until the end of the current campaign.
Griezmann began his senior club career in 2009 with the Spanish team Real Sociedad, where he had previously played as a youth player, winning the Segunda Division title in his first season.
In 2014, Griezmann joined Atletico Madrid for a club-record fee of 30 million euros. During his time there, he won the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, and Supercopa de España, and was awarded the La Liga Best Player title. He was nominated for the Ballon d’Or and Best FIFA Men’s Player in 2016 and 2018.
In 2019, during the transfer window, Griezmann signed with FC Barcelona for 120 million euros, becoming the fifth most expensive player in the world at that time. He won the Copa del Rey there and returned to Atletico Madrid in 2021, where he became the club’s all-time top scorer. Internationally, Griezmann has played 137 matches for France, scoring 44 goals.
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