On Sunday evening, Barcelona will have to confront their former henchman Antoine Griezmann in a crunch La Liga clash against Atletico Madrid. Reporters wondered why the French forward never really fulfilled his potential at Barca.
"Why Griezmann didn't work Barca? It was because of the economic situation. The club had to let him go," Xavi said in his press conference.
Griezmann is a player I like a lot," Xavi added.
Barcelona sold Griezmann to Atleti in the summer of 2023 for €22m after he had spent the previous two seasons on loan there.
Griezmann had arrived at Barca with so much fanfare costing the club €120m. However, his performances were inconsistent as he never played regularly in his preferred right-wing or no. 10 position due to Leo Messi.
But Griezmann has done well for himself at Atleti. He's their record scorer with 176 goals. He also tops their scoring chart this season with 19 goals and seven assists.
Griezmann scored just 35 goals in over 100 games for Barca. Sadly, Xavi never had the opportunity to coach him.
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