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Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann has come in for some fierce criticism from club legend Hristo Stoichkov who believes the World Cup winner has not lived up to his price tag during his two seasons at the Camp Nou.
Stoichkov told TUDN that coach Ronald Koeman is not too blame for all the club’s problems this season and pointed out Griezmann’s lack of goals in important fixtures as an issue, as reported by Marca.
“Now everyone says ‘Koeman, it’s Koeman’, but it’s not all his fault here,” he said. “There are the 11 who play, and at Barcelona it’s not about how you play against teams like that [mid-table teams, like Celta]… Because he hasn’t even scored against Liverpool, Juventus, PSG, Real Madrid or Atletico, and he cost a lot of money.”
The France international moved to Barcelona from La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid in 2019 after the Catalan giants met his €120 million ($135m) buyout clause. Griezmann struggled to consistently impress in his first season but ended his first campaign at the Camp Nou with 15 goals in all competitions.
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Griezmann’s Scoring Record
Griezmann has enjoyed a better second season at Barcelona, scoring 19 times and producing 12 assists for the Catalan giants. He’s been in particularly impressive form in 2021, as noted by Opta.
22 – Only Lionel Messi 🇦🇷 (32 – 23 goals, 9 assists) and Gerard Moreno 🇪🇸 (24 – 18 & 6) have been involved in more goals than Antoine Griezmann 🇫🇷 (22 – 13 & 9) in all competitions in 2021 among all LaLiga players. Happy.
Yet Stoichkov is correct when he says that Griezmann has not scored against Atletico or Real Madrid this season, while his two Champions League goals came in the group stages against Dynamo Kiev and Ferencvaros.
Barcelona’s official website has analyzed Griezmann’s goals for the club and noted that 19 of his 34 strikes have given the team the lead in matches and a further seven have been equalizers.
Yet the stats also show that Griezmann was involved in more goals per season during his time at Atletico than he has so far at Barcelona.
Griezmann’s last goal came in the 3-2 win over Valencia but he has failed to find the back of the net in Barca’s last three outings against Atletico, Levante, and Celta Vigo. The Frenchman also failed to score in the 2-1 defeat to Granada that was a key result in the team’s failure to win La Liga.
What Now For Griezmann?
The Frenchman’s failure to live up to his price tag has led to regular speculation he could be moved on by Barcelona, particularly in light of the club’s enormous debts. Those rumors have resurfaced ahead of the summer transfer window.
Griezmann is one of four key players who are no longer “untouchable” at Barcelona, according to Mundo Deportivo. Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, and Sergi Roberto make up the rest of the list with the club due to talk to the quartet over the summer.
The players’ contribution to Barca’s season will be anaylzed and the club plans to ask all four to lower their salary or look for an exit. The report describes Griezmann as “neither untouchable nor essential.”
Marca also report that Griezmann could be sold “not because they [Barcelona] are especially disappointed with his performances but because they need funds and the Frenchman is seen as a sellable asset.”
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