Messi was unhappy when Griezmann rejected Barcelona at first, French star spills the beans

World Cup winner Antoine Greizmann has revealed that Lionel Messi was left disappointed when he initially rejected an approach from Barcelona in 2018. The French star was tipped to make a move to the Camp Nou but opted to stay at Atletico Madrid and reports claimed that his relationship with Messi was one of the main reasons why Greizmann snubbed the Catalans.

However, a year later, Griezmann eventually made the switch in a deal worth €120 million and has now insisted that his relationship with the six-time Ballon d'Or winner is "stronger than ever". 

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LaLiga news: Antoine Greizmann talks about rejecting Barcelona in 2018

In a recent interview with Universo Valdano on Monday, Antoine Greizmann set the record straight as he admitted that he gets along extremely well with Lionel Messi but the Barcelona talisman was left irritated when the French attacker snubbed a move to Catalonia. "When I signed for Barcelona, I asked for forgiveness for the delay in my move and saying that I won't join Barcelona."

When Griezmann rejected Barcelona in 2018, he starred in his own TV show 'La Decision' to announce that he had committed his future with the Rojiblancos. At the time, Griezmann was heavily linked with a move to Barcelona but reports suggested that the World Cup winner snubbed the move because of some friction with Messi. One of Griezmann's uncles and former agent Eric Olhats had also previously cited similar reasons. 

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However, the 29-year-old has hit back at his former agent and uncle for their statements and said, "I don't even have a relationship with Eric anymore. My uncle, he doesn't know much about football and a journalist just wanted to get a headline from him at that time."

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Griezmann then revealed the reason why Messi was left dejected the first time he snubbed a move to Barcelona. "He (Messi) told me that he was angry because he had publicly asked for me to join Barcelona and in the end, I chose to stay Atleti."

Griezmann, who scored 133 goals in 257 appearances for Diego Simeone's side then concluded by stating that he had requested forgiveness from Messi and his relationship with the Argentine has never been better. "All that is in the past now and we have a relationship much stronger than before. I respect Leo a lot and I'm learning new things from him every day." 

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Image Credits - Barcelona Instagram