He is a World Cup winner and one of Barcelona's most expensive signings ever, but Antoine Griezmann's form has deteriorated so much that coach Ronald Koeman can leave him on the bench without anyone questioning his decision.
Antoine Griezmann has now gone seven games without scoring or assisting – at least on Sunday he had an excuse. The French forward, who cost Barcelona around 125 million euros ($154 million) when they signed him in 2019, had been left on the bench for the third time this season for the away game at Huesca. When he came on at minute 81, Barcelona was in protection mode, trying to defend their slender 1-0 advantage. He barely touched the ball.
On Wednesday, when they face Athletic Bilbao, he could find himself back in the team, but there are no guarantees as Ronald Koeman looks to extend the team's unbeaten run to seven games. "I believe in all the players in our squad," said the Barcelona coach when asked about Griezmann. "But if I'm picking three midfielders then there is only room for three forwards. "We want (Ousmane) Dembele alongside Leo (Messi) because he stretches teams. Then we have to choose between Martin (Braithwaite) and Antoine at centre forward and Martin has been playing well. "I don't want to comment on the fact that Griezmann was a substitute. We have a lot of games to play and we will need all the players."
If Koeman's comments were designed to ease Griezmann's concerns then they are unlikely to have had much effect. Koeman had admitted that former Middlesbrough and Leganes forward Braithwaite is currently ahead of the France World Cup winner. The idea that Griezmann will get minutes because there are so many games will also have been little comfort. He did not leave Atletico Madrid to become a useful squad player. He was stood forlornly by a sign reading "Exit" at the El Alcoraz stadium on Sunday, while his fellow substitutes warmed up. That sparked jokes on social media that he might be about to leave the club in January. That seems unlikely. Barcelona's stand-in president, Carlos Tusquets, does not have the authority to sign off on loans or sales. And the Barcelona election will not take place until Jan. 24, leaving the new incumbent with only a week of the window to try to freshen Barcelona's squad. Koeman admitted after the victory over Huesca that he would like a new forward, but said that "it depends on a lot of other factors and it's complicated." Barcelona has no money to spend in the market. Griezmann's departure would certainly raise funds, but the 29-year-old is likely to wait to see what the future brings.
A new president might eventually mean a new coach and if Lionel Messi does decide to leave in the summer, Griezmann might feel his time has come to become the team's talisman. His critics say he had the chance to take on that role in Barcelona's last game of 2020 when Messi was rested and failed to take it. It's a measure of the situation Barcelona finds itself in that Sunday's win was greeted with a reasonable level of contentment. In other eras, such a narrow victory over the worst team in the league would have been no reason to celebrate.
As it is, Barcelona goes with some renewed confidence to face Athletic in what is Marcelino's first game in charge after he replaced the sacked Gaizka Garitano. The big question is, will Griezmann be in the starting XI or not?
