Antoine Griezmann has become a part of Atlético de Madrid's history on his own merits, being the all-time top scorer. He achieved this feat last January, precisely, in the match against Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup. However, no start is easy and the French striker relied on Fernando Torres when he landed at the Vicente Calderón.
Before leaving for FC Barcelona in 2019, the French world champion played alongside the Atletico youth player for four seasons. In the first of them, Antoine Griezmann would ask Fernando Torres for advice, who returned in the winter transfer market. Those words have helped the French international become the important player he is today.
The best advice for Antoine Griezmann
The player who arrived from Real Sociedad bears almost no resemblance to the one who can be found today at Atlético Madrid . Simeone welcomed a young French talent who had a lot of potential and who was already adapted to Spanish football. The Argentine coach turned him into one of the eleven best footballers on the planet and a candidate for the Ballon d'Or on two occasions.
However, his first few months were very complicated, constantly alternating between being a substitute and a starter. For Antoine Griezmann, the arrival of Fernando Torres was very important , as he returned to Vicente Calderón in January 2015. The Frenchman asked the Atletico youth player for advice on how to try to show his best version on the pitch in a difficult season.
"Fernando Torres, when he arrived, I remember asking him for advice and he always told me that, as long as you give everything here, it doesn't matter if you score goals or not," he revealed. At that time, Antoine Griezmann had a lot of competition in attack, as he was still adapting to the position of attacking midfielder. "If they see you fighting for every ball , every minute, every second, the fans will be behind you 100% until you leave," explained the Frenchman.
Legends of Atletico Madrid
In both cases, we can speak of two characters who have entered the history of the red-and-white team on their own merits. Fernando Torres emerged in the darkest period of the club, taking up the reins after the relegation in the 1999-00 season. He left Atlético de Madrid to help financially and allow them to continue growing and aspire to enter the Champions League .
He returned to win a Europa League in 2018 and close a circle that had begun at the beginning of the century under Luis Aragonés . For his part, Antoine Griezmann is the top scorer in the history of the red-and-white team, leaving an almost unreachable mark. In fact, he surpassed the Sabio de Hortaleza himself in the Spanish Super Cup duel against Real Madrid and now he wants to continue adding more goals to his personal account.