ANTOINE GRIEZMANN admitted he must win over the trust of his new Barcelona team-mates after struggling to make his mark so far.
The French World Cup winner made the switch from Atletico to the Nou Camp in the summer in a deal worth £107.6million.
Antoine Griezmann knows he must win over the trust of Lionel Messi and his team-mates if he is to be a success at BarcelonaCredit: Reuters
And despite his reported £725,000-a-week wages, it has not quite gone as smoothly as he or Barcelona would have wanted just yet with reports of a rift inside the dressing room.
The Frenchman was seemingly ignored during a game against Rayo Valladolid, refused to be passed to by Lionel Messi and barely speaks to the Argentine hero.
Griezmann has scored four goals and three assists but is not hitting the heights he managed under Diego Simeone, unsurprisingly revealing that Barcelona is a tough club to play for.
He told Telefoot: “It’s not the easiest place to play.
“It’s a new club, a different club, new tactics. But you have to work, I’m proud of where I am.
“They believe in me. I have to win the trust of the team and I will be ready.
“I’m more of a team player, in the way [I] try to manage the movements of others and [in the way I] try to be of use to my teammates.
“And If I can score then it’s much better, but it’s not my main aim. If we get the three points, I’m happy with myself.”
Barcelona sporting director Eric Abidal gave a strong verdict of the Frenchman’s start to life with his new club.
Speaking to SPORT, he said: “He’s a player I speak with a lot. He’s in a different position. He knows it’s complicated to adapt.
“Here the movements are different, but he’s a player that can add a lot and the coach knows that. Defensively he brings a lot and he can play in many positions.
“He came because he wants to win the Champions League. He knows he’s not at his best and that’s only fixed by working hard.
“Griezmann is an intelligent player and the important thing is to know what you can add to the team in the position you are playing.”
On Griezmann’s integration with the rest of the players, Abidal added: “It’s very difficult to manage. The solution is hard work. Time will tell.
“Top players have come here and not adapted in the first year. You have to have patience. Barcelona’s philosophy is not that easy.”
Away from Barcelona, Griezmann shone for France as he scored his 30th senior international goal in 78 appearances.
After setting up Corentin Tolisso for the first, he tucked in his side’s second in the 2-0 win away at Albania to ensure the world champions topped Group H in their Euro 2020 qualifiers.
And he did it all in hid brand-new Puma Future Flash boots.
The cleats, which will also be worn by Sergio Aguero and Marco Reus, are made of an entirely knitted upper and special grip zones to assist ball control.
They are available now in Puma stores, puma.com and leading football retailers worldwide.
The forward grabbed a goal and an assist as France beat Albania 2-0 away yesterdayCredit: Getty – Contributor
Antoine Griezmann was part of the promotion campaign behind the launch of Puma’s new Future Flash bootsCredit: PUMA
Griezmann admits Messi barely talks to him at Barcelona
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
