Antoine Griezmann is currently on international duty, traveling with the French squad ahead of their friendly against Iceland and UEFA Nations League showdowns with Portugal and Sweden. The attacker has joined up with the team he shines with but his Barcelona troubles won't be far off his mind.
The 29-year-old continues to struggle at Camp Nou, putting in another mixed performance in the most recent 5-2 win over Real Betis. The Frenchman found the back of the net in that game but missed a penalty as well as squandering several opportunities before being taken off the pitch.
However, one former member of the Griezmann camp is adamant that the attacker is not at fault for his uninspiring Blaugrana career. That man is his former advisor Eric Olhats who has instead blamed Antoine's struggles on the club and his team-mate Lionel Messi, slamming the Argentine icon for what he perceives as a "deplorable" attitude to the former Atletico ace.
Olhats has accused the six-time Ballon d'Or winner of holding too much power at the club and thus making life difficult for Griezmann. He argues that this stems from Leo's disapproval of the signing of Antoine, with the Barcelona captain publicly revealing his desire to see Neymar return.
That did not unfold, with the Brazilian remain at PSG and the Catalan giants instead paying up large sums of money to lure the 2018 World Cup winner. Speaking to France Football, Olhats said (as per Goal):
"Antoine arrived in a struggling club where Messi has a view on everything.
"He's at the same time emperor and monarch, and he didn't see Antoine's arrival with a good eye.
"His attitude has been deplorable, he made him feel that. I've always heard Antoine say there's no problem with Messi, but never the other way around.
"In my eyes, Messi said he wanted to leave to see what role he still had as a decision-making player, regarding the players who arrived and those who left, but he eventually stayed. Classic Messi! As good on the pitch as he is bad off it
"Barcelona has been suffering for a while. There was a cancer in that club, and it obviously leaves some marks."
Consistency has been a key issue for Griezmaann, with the Frenchman failing to muster up a string of good performances. Ronald Koeman has demanded more from the attacker but his former advisor has once again absolved him of blame, pinning this down on the team.
"It's the club that's sick, not him," he added.
"Last year, when Antoine arrived, Messi didn't talk to him, didn't pass him the ball. He created a real trauma for a more than negative adaptation.
"That clearly left its mark. It was clear and visible. Add to that the president stepping down, the club conceding eight against Bayern and three different managers, the conditions aren't good."
Strangely enough, Messi played a huge part in Griezmann's goal vs Real Betis, with the Argentine dummying the ball which helped Antoine slot it into an empty net. Regardless, chemistry between the pair has never reached the heights of what Leo had with Neymar and Suarez. Work is needed there if the Catalan giants wish to succeed this season.
