Antoine Griezmann was rejected by Premier League club who instead broke transfer record on flop that never scored
Fulham’s fortunes may have been very different had they sealed a deal for a young Antoine Griezmann. If there was a missed transfer hall of fame, then this would undoubtedly be in it. French forward Griezmann showed his early promise at Real Sociedad Even at the age of 33, Griezmann is still widely considered one of the best footballers in Europe. The Atletico Madrid star continues to be decisive for his club, even more so after calling time on his international career with France. Prior to his first spell at Atleti in 2014, Griezmann was the subject of interest from various Spanish clubs after impressing at Real Sociedad. There was also Premier League interest in the form of Fulham, who at that time were managed by Rene Meulensteen. Fulham were struggling and in need of a player in the January transfer window who could fire them to top-flight safety. The Cottagers sounded out the Frenchman and subsequently approached the Basque outfit for the then 23-year-old star. Despite the fact that Griezmann lit up LaLiga with an array of fine performances, La Real valued their player at a paltry £12million. With Griezmann edging towards a move to west London, the deal fell through and Fulham turned their attention elsewhere. The forward went on to sign for Diego Simeone and Fulham used the £12m to lure Greek striker Kostas Mitroglou to Craven Cottage from Olympiacos in a club-record deal. And it’s fair to say that whilst one transfer turned out to be a rousing success, the other was simply forgettable. Meulensteen came within a whisker of adding Griezmann to his struggling Fulham squad Griezmann scored 52 goals in 202 outings for Sociedad between 2009-2014Getty But it was Mitroglou who was preferred instead during the 2014 winter transfer windowGetty Sadly for Fulham, Mitroglou failed to live up to his huge reputation in his homeland where he had won five league titles and three Greek Cups and netted 23 goals in 26 appearances the previous campaign. Upon his arrival, an excited Meulesteen talked up his new signing, saying: “One of the most important things we looked at is his scoring record,” said Meulensteen. “Over the last four or five seasons that has been very good. “He has put away a few in the Champions League and he has got a good variety in his finishing, which we spoke a lot about with Giorgos Karagounis. Hopefully he will be a good help for us. “He has trained but we have to be careful. He had an injury and coming from the Greek league, which is different to the Premier League, we need to make sure that the conditioning guys get him up to speed as best as we can.” But that optimism quickly turned to doom and gloom for the Dutch manager. French star Griezmann played a key role in France’s World Cup triumph in 2018getty GettyHe is still performing admirably in LaLiga with Atletico Madrid[/caption] Mitroglou meanwhile turned out to be a huge disappointment for Fulham Mitroglou ended up making just one start for Fulham and two from the bench without ever finding the back of the net. He ultimately failed to do what he was brought in to do – fire the Cottagers to Premier League survival – before returning to Olympiacos on loan six months after arriving in England. In stark contrast, Griezmann’s career sparked into life at Atletico under Simeone before making his mark for France in Euro 2016 – scoring six times. He helped France lift the World Cup in 2018 before moving to Barcelona the following year after the Catalan club activated his £108m buy-out clause. His switch to the Nou Camp didn’t go as planned, with the player loaned back to Atletico Madrid before signing permanently on a deal until 2026. After winning back the love from the fans, Griezmann become the club’s all-time top scorer last season.
Fulham’s fortunes may have been very different had they sealed a deal for a young Antoine Griezmann.
If there was a missed transfer hall of fame, then this would undoubtedly be in it.
Even at the age of 33, Griezmann is still widely considered one of the best footballers in Europe.
The Atletico Madrid star continues to be decisive for his club, even more so after calling time on his international career with France.
Prior to his first spell at Atleti in 2014, Griezmann was the subject of interest from various Spanish clubs after impressing at Real Sociedad.
There was also Premier League interest in the form of Fulham, who at that time were managed by Rene Meulensteen.
Fulham were struggling and in need of a player in the January transfer window who could fire them to top-flight safety.
The Cottagers sounded out the Frenchman and subsequently approached the Basque outfit for the then 23-year-old star.
Despite the fact that Griezmann lit up LaLiga with an array of fine performances, La Real valued their player at a paltry £12million.
With Griezmann edging towards a move to west London, the deal fell through and Fulham turned their attention elsewhere.
The forward went on to sign for Diego Simeone and Fulham used the £12m to lure Greek striker Kostas Mitroglou to Craven Cottage from Olympiacos in a club-record deal.
And it’s fair to say that whilst one transfer turned out to be a rousing success, the other was simply forgettable.
Sadly for Fulham, Mitroglou failed to live up to his huge reputation in his homeland where he had won five league titles and three Greek Cups and netted 23 goals in 26 appearances the previous campaign.
Upon his arrival, an excited Meulesteen talked up his new signing, saying: “One of the most important things we looked at is his scoring record,” said Meulensteen.
“Over the last four or five seasons that has been very good.
“He has put away a few in the Champions League and he has got a good variety in his finishing, which we spoke a lot about with Giorgos Karagounis. Hopefully he will be a good help for us.
“He has trained but we have to be careful. He had an injury and coming from the Greek league, which is different to the Premier League, we need to make sure that the conditioning guys get him up to speed as best as we can.”
But that optimism quickly turned to doom and gloom for the Dutch manager.
Mitroglou ended up making just one start for Fulham and two from the bench without ever finding the back of the net.
He ultimately failed to do what he was brought in to do – fire the Cottagers to Premier League survival – before returning to Olympiacos on loan six months after arriving in England.
In stark contrast, Griezmann’s career sparked into life at Atletico under Simeone before making his mark for France in Euro 2016 – scoring six times.
He helped France lift the World Cup in 2018 before moving to Barcelona the following year after the Catalan club activated his £108m buy-out clause.
His switch to the Nou Camp didn’t go as planned, with the player loaned back to Atletico Madrid before signing permanently on a deal until 2026.
After winning back the love from the fans, Griezmann become the club’s all-time top scorer last season.
What's Your Reaction?
