Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann unhappy, wants more minutes

Former Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann has admitted that it was not all rainbows and butterflies since his move to FC Barcelona. The Frenchman admitted that he has felt unhappy with the Catalan giants especially during important matches when he was left on the bench during the 2020/21 season.

Griezmann did not have a disappointing season overall, scoring 20 goals in 51 appearances. However, the 30-year-old was not pleased to watch his former club, Atletico Madrid, win the La Liga Santander title led by former Barcelona ace Luis Suarez.

"Yes [I was unhappy at Barcelona]. When you lose the title, for example, it makes me sad. Also at the beginning of the season, because I wasn't playing, I didn't feel important," he admitted, as quoted by Marca.

Griezmann came to the Camp Nou back in 2019, and did not enjoy the same position of importance that he held when he was with Atletico. Of course, that is to be expected in a squad that had both Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at the time.

"I'm used to playing everything - the big games - I find myself on the bench against Real Madrid. It's annoying to see teammates warming up on the pitch while you are next to them," he added.

After the departure of Suarez last summer, Griezmann did receive more minutes, but it was still a huge difference compared to what he is used to. Nevertheless, manager Ronald Koeman did appear to warm up to him eventually. "These are the coach's decisions and I have to accept it and do everything I can to change his mind," said the Frenchman.

He also put to rest all the speculations about a "feud' between him and Messi, which many said was one of the reasons why they did not play together very often. Many said that Messi was not pleased with the club's decision to acquire the Atletico star.

"We understand each other well. Sometimes we write messages to each other, we talk a lot in training. On the pitch, he's obviously a very easy player to play with. In terms of the play, things are getting better and better," said Griezmann.

This summer, Griezmann has rejoined the FIFA World Cup winning French squad. They are the favourites to win Euro 2020, and Griezmann knows that his performance will be closely watched by Koeman. If he does well, he will be hoping that it translates to more minutes for the club in the upcoming season.