{"id":1666,"date":"2026-05-18T15:28:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T07:28:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/?p=1666"},"modified":"2026-05-18T15:28:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T07:28:36","slug":"atletico-pay-tribute-to-griezmann-in-frenchman-final-home-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/18\/atletico-pay-tribute-to-griezmann-in-frenchman-final-home-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Atletico pay tribute to Griezmann in Frenchman final home game"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Atletico Madrid bid farewell to their star player Antoine Griezmann after his final home match. The No 7, visibly moved, addressed the fans with some heartfelt words, thanked them and apologised. His family, the team and coaching staff, and a number of legendary Atl\u00e9tico players were there to support him at this moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday the legend begins,\u201d Godin told him; \u201cit’s true that he left and it hurt us, but he showed guts, came back, and proved he’s the best,\u201d Koke added. Both of them, along with the entire Metropolitano Stadium, moved Antoine Griezmann, who, with tears in his eyes, received and embraced the affection of his fans at the end of the match against Girona\u2014the Frenchman\u2019s last at the Madrid venue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a pleasure to be with Antoine on this special day. I know how it feels. It\u2019s hard. As friends and family, and on behalf of all Atletico fans, thank you for everything you\u2019ve given. It\u2019s the end of a chapter, the most beautiful one of your life. From now on, the legend begins. Thank you, my friend,\u201d said the legendary Diego Godin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It\u2019s time to say goodbye to the people I love. Many important ones have left. Now Griezmann is leaving, Atletico Madrid\u2019s all-time leading scorer. Thank you for cheering us all up in difficult times; when someone came in sad and down, Antoine was always there with the child inside him, coming in cheerful and pushing us forward. It\u2019s true that he left and it hurt us all, but he had the g*ts to come back and prove he\u2019s the best. We always say that more than titles, we seek recognition. And here there are 70,000 guys applauding you, and they\u2019ll keep applauding you,\u201d Koke told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By then, Griezmann already had tears welling up in his eyes, and he remained visibly moved throughout the tribute that Atl\u00e9tico and its fans dedicated to him after the victory over Girona.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a real celebration, with the players and coaching staff forming a guard of honor as he made his way out for the tribute. \u201cThank you, Antoine,\u201d read a banner on the field. Then, the player emerged from the tunnel leading to the locker room, and the ovation was a grand one. Griezmann responded with applause and teary eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of his goals were shown on the scoreboard screens, and captains Oblak, Gimenez, and Koke presented him with a jersey signed by the entire squad. Afterward, a photo was taken for posterity with the entire squad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Atl\u00e9tico\u2019s second-longest-standing member and two children also presented him with a gift. As Griezmann embraced the veteran member, the player received his ‘Rojiblanco’ membership card for next season, which will feature his image. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was when some of Atletico\u2019s legendary captains made a surprise appearance at the tribute. Adelardo, Tomas Renones, Miguel Angel Ruiz, Roberto Solozabal, Antonio Lopez, Fernando Torres, and Diego Godin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Torres\u2019s words were moving. \u201cThis is Antoine\u2019s day. We\u2019ve been hearing all these days about the unique player we\u2019ve enjoyed watching. The best many of us have ever seen, that\u2019s clear, but I think Antoine is receiving something even more important: the affection, respect, and recognition of the Atl\u00e9tico family. Thank you for your soccer and your commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The greeting from his family\u2014his wife and children\u2014brought Griezmann to tears, and he asked for \u201cforgiveness once again\u201d for having left for Barcelona. \u201cIt was a mistake,\u201d he said. \u201cThank you all for bringing your children here so they can see what Atl\u00e9tico de Madrid is\u2014the best in the world.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Atletico Madrid bid farewell to their star player Antoine Griezmann after his final home match. The No 7,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1667,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1666"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1668,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1666\/revisions\/1668"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}