Antoine Griezmann surpasses Lionel Messi and writes his name in La Liga’s history books | OneFootball

Antoine Griezmann (34) may be on his way out at Atlético Madrid, but he continues to make his mark in the Spanish capital. On Saturday, the Frenchman from Mâcon played the full 90 minutes in his team’s 1-1 draw with Espanyol.

That was his 521st match in La Liga, the most of any foreign player in the history of that competition, one more than Barcelona legend Lionel Messi (37).

For a long time, Grizou has been rumoured to be on his way to Major League Soccer (MLS), potentially with Los Angeles FC, where his former French teammates, Olivier Giroud (38) and Hugo Lloris (38), currently play.

The former 2018 World Cup champion with France has not played in a domestic competition outside of Spain, previously featuring with Real Sociedad and Barcelona. During his time in the Spanish top-flight, the Golden Boot winner at Euro 2016 has found the back of the net 198 times with 95 assists.

Griezmann is currently in his 16th La Liga campaign. Messi left La Liga in 2021 after 16 seasons at the Camp Nou, joining Paris Saint-Germain. The Argentine international currently plays in MLS with Inter Miami.

So far this season, Griezmann has eight goals in La Liga, and Los Colchoneros sit third in the table, six points behind Real Madrid and Grizou’s former team, Barça. He also leads the team with five assists.

In his lengthy career in Spain, Grizou has played over 40,000 minutes of club football. Late last year, Griezmann retired from the French national team, netting 45 goals in 137 appearances for Les Bleus. He’s fourth all-time in goals for the men’s team, while he and Giroud are tied for third in all-time caps. With 197 goals across all competitions, he is Atlético’s record goalscorer.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre