A fundamental flaw in a good deed or act of goodwill is self-promotion and attention seeking.
Step forward, Antoine Griezmann.
The Atletico Madrid star displayed this in abundance after committing his future to Diego Simeone’s men on Thursday evening, via an hour-long television documentary about himself.
In the dying embers of the programme and also via social media, he confirmed he would be staying put at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Loyalty in football has been a dying quality in the game for the best part of two decades now.
It would be unfair to accuse the France international of being disloyal given he opted to reject Barcelona‘s advances and the prospect of playing second fiddle to Lionel Messi. But, the way he went about his decision smacked of poor taste and modern-day player power at its worse.
“My fans, my team, my home: Atletico Madrid.”
Were those genuine words from his mouth? Maybe, but Griezmann’s TV broadcast, shown on the Movistar station in Spain, apparently had two pre-recorded endings; one in which he would reveal his plans to stay, and the other, dropping a bombshell he would join Blaugrana.
Reportedly, Griezmann only made up his mind one hour before the show was broadcast. Quite remarkable.
He managed to control his own narrative from start to finish and simply had both Atletico and Barcelona in the palm of his hands. Watching a multi-millionaire footballer deliberate a decision within the confines of his own mansion showed just how out of touch he is.
This had all been in the planning since April – with Barca defender Gerard Pique, a shareholder in Movistar, tweeting he was getting his popcorn ready, in eager anticipation of which way Griezmann would turn.
Atleti fans are delighted their star player will continue his Red and Whites career but they could be forgiven for feeling used and taken for a ride.
For a club built on a local, proud and devoted fanbase, as well as history, they have every right to make sure Griezmann has to win them over again with star performances at the beginning of next season.
From a footballing perspective, has Griezmann made the right call? Opportunities to join a club like Barcelona do not come around often and this was his prime chance to make the move having also halted their advances this time last summer.
Atleti’s ability to keep hold of the 27-year-old – a man at the peaks of his powers – largely boils down to the presence of Simeone.
Mi afición, mi equipo, MI CASA! @atleti 🔴⚪🔴
Mes supporters, mon équipe, MA MAISON ! @AtletiFR 🔴⚪🔴
My fans, my team, MY HOME!!! @atletienglish 🔴⚪🔴 pic.twitter.com/ByD8Cju5Yb
— Antoine Griezmann (@AntoGriezmann) June 14, 2018
Few other managers in the recent history of the game have been capable of having such a hold over their players. The Argentine has a unique ability to not only squeeze every drop out of his squad but also keep them on side like one family.
For as long as he stays at the helm, Atletico will continue to compete and challenge at the summit of La Liga and in European competition – as they did this past season.
Indeed, the 2019 Champions League final will be contested at Atleti’s one-year old stunning 68,000-seater venue – so expect them to be in the mix on their home patch.
Griezmann’s actions are unlikely to have been met with complete warmth from Simeone, but having the Frenchman at his disposal moving forward is ultimately to his benefit.
The Les Bleus striker has certainly set a trend of transfer saga chaos, played out by the player and his internal team, which we might well see again when the Neymar to Real Madrid rumour heads into overdrive this summer.
The laughable thing about this whole Griezmann to Barcelona transfer tale is that he should have put it to the backburner especially with a World Cup campaign about to get underway with France.
Sadly, Griezmann was only thinking about himself when he should have put his country first. That, in a nutshell, is what today’s players are concerned about now: themselves.
‘The Beautiful Game’ isn’t what it used to be.
