Griezmann again risks the wrath of Real Sociedad fans

Antoine Griezmann has once again risked the wrath of Real Sociedad supporters by saying he hopes to leave the club next summer and, more importantly, has an understanding with club President Jokin Aperribay to lower the rescission clause in his contract if he sees out the 2011/12 season.

The 20-year-old was speaking whilst on duty with the French Under -21 international team this week, yet he had already incurred the wrath of fans at Anoeta with his declarations over the summer - since retracted - that he wanted to move to Atlético Madrid.

“My agent has told me of their interest,” he was quoted as telling L’Equipe in Colombia, where he was representing France in the World Under-20 Championships, “and it is a club that has always appealed to me. Atlético are always in the Champions League or Europa League and are one of Spain´s great clubs. They have fantastic support and the stadium is almost always full for every home game; if I was to go there it would be for football reasons only.”

Afterwards the 20-year-old claimed he had been misinterpreted, saying: “I was misunderstood and I will show the fans that on the pitch. They can whistle me at Anoeta but I will continue to give everything for Real. I never said I wanted to leave. It came from several newspapers that claimed I wanted to go, but I never said that. I only said I´d like to play with world-class players, from which I can learn, but I am fine here and want to enjoy it.”

Even so, his latest comments could prove to be the final straw for fans who had forgiven him following his vital equalising goal in the 2-2 home draw with Barcelona last month. His decision to dispense with the services of agent John Williams, whose contract with Griezmann is due to expire at the end of the month, is also thought to be a factor behind this most recent outburst, although the player’s father Alain blames the Englishman for the negative publicity his son has received.

“Antoine is happy at Real and knows he owes the club a lot as he has been there since he was 13-years-of-age,” said Griezmann Senior. “What has happened is that he has been influenced by his agent and left alone in these delicate situations, and he was wrong to make such statements. In addition, a reporter taking advantage of his youth tried to find out what his future plans were.”

Nonetheless, a further apology from the player was forthcoming on the Txuri-urdin’s official website on Thursday: “The words I want to say are not worth much,” it read. “The only thing I have left are the facts and therefore I want to concentrate solely on rediscovering my form and scoring many goals for Real.

“I want to forget all about agents, contracts and worrying about statements and interviews. I want to earn the support of the fans on the pitch and not with words.”

Griezmann has been with the San Sebastián club since the age of 13 and burst onto the scene during the club’s 2009/10 promotion season and has since been coveted by a number of big names, including Barcelona, Inter Milan and Valencia.

Meanwhile, club captain Mikel Aranburu has come out in defence of his teammate: “The thing that most worries Antoine and the rest of the team is Sunday’s game at Real Zaragoza,” said the experienced 32-year-old midfielder, who has been with Sociedad his entire career. “Any personal business must be kept outside the dressing room and dealt with in the offices. He will continue to bring a lot of important things to the team and needs to do his talking on the pitch. Antoine’s statements have not affected the dressing room and the squad is above the declarations of any one player,” he added.

Griezmann will get the opportunity to see how the Basque fans react to him in Real Sociedad’s home game with Getafe on Sunday, October 23.
Source: http://www.adifferentleague.co.uk/p6_1_10352_griezmann-again-risks-the-wrath-of-real-sociedad-fans.html