History was made on Tuesday night at the Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano, where Antoine Griezmann equalled Luis Aragonés' goals tally of 173 to become the joint-top scorer in the history of Atlético de Madrid. The Frenchman scored two of his team's goals in a 3-3 draw against Getafe CF to reach this impressive figure.
The record-equalling goal was a penalty and Diego Simeone stated afterwards that the spirit of Luis Aragonés helped Griezmann as he stepped up to make history. In the coach's words. “Luis was with him as he took the penalty. He accompanied Griezmann, one of the best players in the history of Atlético de Madrid, a player who today matches his tally. It's a truly incredible figure. Griezmann deserves this. He is an extraordinary footballer, ideal for a team like Atlético de Madrid."
When the ball hit the back of the net, Griezmann ran to celebrate with the Argentinian tactician. The pair have shared so much together over the forward's two stints at the club. Simeone was the one who converted him from a dangerous wide forward to a lethal striker when the Frenchman made the move from Real Sociedad to Atlético de Madrid in 2014. It was under Simeone's tutelage that Griezmann finished third in the Ballon d'Or voting of 2016 and 2018, winning the World Cup in Russia as an Atleti player too. After that 4-2 win over Croatia in the final, the first message Griezmann sent when he picked up his phone in the France dressing room was to Simeone. “Me achieving this is thanks to you," he wrote to the Argentine.
Antoine Griezmann's legendary career
Griezmann has played 515 league games for three Spanish clubs and across two divisions. With Real Sociedad, he appeared in 180 matches, 39 of them in LALIGA HYPERMOTION in the 2009/10 season, when he was one of the most outstanding players as Martín Lasarte's side won promotion, starring alongside the likes of Xabi Prieto and Claudio Bravo. After four successful seasons with the Basque club's first team in LALIGA EA SPORTS, during which time he netted 46 goals, the forward then headed to Atlético de Madrid.
Under Simeone, he has made 261 league outings over two spells, with his time at FC Barcelona briefly pausing his career with Los Rojiblancos. At the capital city club, he has scored 123 goals in LALIGA and become a true fan favourite.
Griezmann's time at FC Barcelona may not have brought him all the success he had hoped for, but it did allow him to add 74 more LALIGA EA SPORTS appearances that also count towards his great milestone of over 500 LALIGA appearances. Under Ernesto Valverde, Quique Setién and Ronald Koeman, he scored a total of 22 goals before returning to Los Colchoneros.
The Frenchman is close to being the foreigner with the most appearances, as his 515 games means he is closing in on the 520 played by Lionel Messi. On the overall podium stand Rubén Castro (717), Nino (709), and Robert Fernández (674).
Griezmann, still to win LALIGA EA SPORTS
Among his honours, Griezmann has one LALIGA HYPERMOTION championship to his name, which he won with Real Sociedad in 2009/10. He has yet to win the elusive LALIGA EA SPORTS title, however, which has eluded him in past seasons and with which he has a curious history. When he arrived at Atlético de Madrid in 2014, the capital city team had just become champions. The same thing happened to him in 2019, when he signed for FC Barcelona, who had just won the league title. Then, his return to Los Rojiblancos in 2021 came after Atlético de Madrid's recent victory in LALIGA EA SPORTS in the 2020/21 season.
As a 2018 World Cup winner with France, and boasting many club and national team trophies to his name, Griezmann is a player with more than 500 appearances in LALIGA but still with one major objective left in his career in Spanish football. He was one of the best players in LALIGA EA SPORTS last season, and it's not a stretch to say that Atleti's title hopes flow through him this season.
