Barcelona defender insists Antoine Griezmann is content at Atletico Madrid

Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti has revealed that his French compatriot Antoine Griezmann is content with the proceedings at Atletico Madrid despite the constant speculation regarding his future. The France international was heavily tipped to join the Spanish champions last summer but he decided to snub their advances to sign a new long-term deal with Atleti.

Since then, things have not gone as planned with Atleti failing to compete for silverware and this has recently spread the gossip that Griezmann could pursue a fresh challenge. Amidst this, Umtiti has clarified that the forward has no sort of concerns regarding his position and remains ‘very happy’ with the happenings at the club.

He told Telefoot: “I know Antoine is very happy in Madrid, it’s going well for him, it’s a team that plays for him, and after that, in a career there are choices that we can take and that we can regret. But I know he feels good there. He could play in any club around the world because of his qualities, whether in Barcelona or elsewhere, and be happy and successful.”

Griezmann has not managed to garner regular silverware over the past four years with the Madrid giants but he has nonetheless remained committed to the team’s cause under Diego Simeone. Nonetheless, there comes a moment whether a player has the eagerness to secure trophy success and it remains to be seen whether the attacker has any such thoughts ahead of the summer.

Atleti are set to go trophyless for the ongoing campaign after bowing out of the Copa del Rey and Champions League while they are 10 points behind Barcelona at the top of the league standings. They are unlikely to catch up with the Blaugrana, who barely succumb to defeats but they can aim to consolidate the runner-up position for the second season running.