COLUMN: Inimitable, chameleonic, irreplaceable – Antoine Griezmann’s legacy at Atletico Madrid

COLUMN: Inimitable, chameleonic, irreplaceable – Antoine Griezmann’s legacy at Atletico Madrid Round 29 of La Liga had a little something for everyone. It saw the largest comeback in a league game for 21 years , while a historic club inched ever closer to the abyss . It is “as you were” in the race for fifth place as Spain zeroes in on an additional Champions League spot, while at the top of the table, Barcelona defeated Rayo by a solitary goal to maintain its four-point edge over Real Madrid – Los Blancos defeated Atletico in one of the worst-officiated league derbies I have ever watched.

It wasn’t long after Jose Luis Munuera Montero blew for full-time on 95:49 (despite nominally adding six minutes of stoppage time at the Bernabeu, you simply have to laugh) when Marca reported an exclusive: Atletico star Antoine Griezmann was on his way to the United States, where he was going to sign a two-year contract with Orlando City SC. That report has since been corroborated in many outlets, and pending an official announcement from the club, Griezmann – who turned 35 on Saturday – will leave Atletico in June after the European season ends. Griezmann’s departure in June for Major League Soccer, where he has long insisted that he wanted to play, will bring down the curtain on a legendary career in Spanish football that has gone somewhat underappreciated and overlooked.

The Frenchman’s 556 appearances in La Liga rank fourth all-time; his 204 goals rank 11th in the competition’s history, while his 98 assists rank seventh. By any metric, he’s a legend of the league. But for his brilliance at Atletico, Real Sociedad and sometimes at Barcelona, he has just a single Copa del Rey in domestic silverware to show for being one of the great players of his generation.

That all could change on the 18th of April , when Griezmann and Atleti meet Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey final on the eve of Feria week in Sevilla. And though Atleti are unfancied to win the Champions League, their quarterfinal tie against Barca promises to be goal-filled. Griezmann helping his beloved Rojiblancos to a first semi-final in nine years can’t be ruled out.