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By now it should be common knowledge that Griezmann is officially a Barcelona player after the club ended the long running transfer sage by paying the sum of €120m to trigger his release clause.
His mega move is bound to have trigger effects across board, with some parties bound to profit, while others would be on the receiving end of losses.
However, for all of his abilities and strengths, Griezmann's signing represents a risk on the part of Barcelona. In this piece, we shall be highlighting four reasons why Griezmann's arrival portends a risk on the part of Barcelona.
#4 The fans' animosity towards him
Barcelona are one of the most illustrious clubs in history, having won all the major trophies available.
Some of the greatest players of all time have donned the famous colors of the Blaugrana and this heightened sense of achievement has led to a rich and proud culture among the Barcelona faithful.
It is the dream of almost every player to represent the club and more often than not, once Barcelona shows even a sniff of interest in a player, said player in question usually goes all out to make the move happen.
It is rare for Barcelona to fail to land a transfer target, much less one which they publicly and vigorously campaigned for, but this is the exact scenario they found themselves in last summer.
The club board, coach, and senior players had come out expressly state their desire for Antoine Griezmann to come to the Nou Camp and did all in their power to make the move happen.
However, in a very publicized video, the former Real Sociedad man turned the club down, pledging his future to Atletico and calling the club 'his home'.
This left Barcelona with their tails between their legs, as they failed to land their marquee signing and this was seen as the biggest crime a player could commit in the eyes of fans.
This is a slight the Camp Nou faithful have seemingly not forgotten, as during a La Liga game at the stadium, the crowd made their displeasures with the player known, with multiple boos ringing out every time he touched the ball.
There are reports that the Frenchman would be unveiled behind closed doors and while an official reason was given due to the work ongoing on the pitch, there are indications that the club hierarchy are worried he would get booed.
Fans play an integral role in helping a player settle in at a club, much more at a club the size of Barcelona, and given the animosity which exists between the fans and Griezmann already, it would take a massive performance from him to win them over.
Also check out: La Liga La Liga fixtures La liga table 2019-20
#3 There is a high possibility that he might not blend in with Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi
For the last two seasons since Neymar departed Barcelona, the club has struggled massively to fill the void left by the Brazilian.
Multiple players have tried and failed, from Malcom to Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele, and there is every possibility that Griezmann would suffer the same fate.
On his day, the 28-year-old is an exceptionally talented player, but it takes a lot more than just talent to excel in a lineup together with Suarez and Messi.
Neymar had seemingly mastered the playing style of Messi and Suarez, and together, the trio formed one of the most devastating attacking tridents in history, helping the Blaugrana to numerous titles.
At Barcelona, everything revolves around Lionel Messi on the field and this is a fact all players understand and adapt to. However, having been the central figure at Atletico Madrid and the French national team, Griezmann might have some difficulty adpating to this new subservient role.
He had earlier expressed reservations about being Lionel Messi's lieutenant and in light of having never played together with either Messi or Suarez, he could be the latest to struggle in attack with the pair.
#2 His tendency to go missing on the biggest stages
For all of his abilities and talent, Antoine Griezmann has a rather disappointing trait of going missing when it matters most.
Every other day, the 28-year-old ranks high up there with the best in the business, but it is on those days when his team needs him to step up to the plate that he disappointingly goes AWOL.
Given; he scored in a World Cup and Europa League final, but these are just exceptions to what has been a recurring trend throughout his career.
In his last 12 matches against Barcelona and Real Madrid, the World Cup winner has scored just three goals and registered one assist which is rather poor when you consider that the pair are Atletico's biggest rivals in La Liga.
He also went missing in both legs against Juventus in the just concluded Champions League season and blaze a penalty to row Z in the 2016 Champions League final against Real Madrid.
Barcelona are in dire need of glory on the continental stage and need their players to step up to the plate in the crucial stages when it matters most, but Griezmann's penchant for underperforming on the biggest stages could be detrimental to their chances.
#1 The senior players in the squad expressed reservations about his arrival
Just a year ago, key players in the Barcelona squad including Messi were unequivocal in their campaign to bring Griezmann to the Camp Nou.
However the World Cup winner threw mud in their faces by shunning them and committing to a new contract with Atletico instead.
Just like the fans, this was a slight not taken kindly to by the Barcelona players, with the result being that a massive U-turn was taken about his arrival.
When asked about the potential arrival of Griezmann earlier in the summer, Lionel Messi declined to speak on the matter, while expressly stating his desire to see Neymar return, and the same was the case with Luis Suarez.
The only Barcelona player who came out to publicly support the French international was Ivan Rakitic, with the Croat stating his opinion that he saw the action as a commitment to Atletico rather than a slight on Barcelona.
The reception of a dressing room is integral to how well a player settles into his new team and with key players seeming indifference to his arrival, Griezmann could have a hard time settling in at Nou Camp.
