Griezmann handed No. 17 ahead of debut season with Barcelona - 7M sport

Griezmann handed No. 17 ahead of debut season with Barcelona

The French World Cup winner revealed his new shirt number at his unveiling at the Camp Nou on Sunday


Posted Monday, July 15, 2019 by Goal.com

Griezmann handed No. 17 ahead of debut season with Barcelona

New Barcelona signing Antoine Griezmann will wear the number 17 shirt for the La Liga champions in his debut season at the Camp Nou.

His squad number was revealed during the player's unveiling in Catalonia following the forward's controversial big-money move from Atletico Madrid this week.

In the hours that followed his €120 million (£107m/$134m) switch, rumours began to surface that the 28-year-old would be given the No. 7 shirt currently occupied by the club's record signing, Philippe Coutinho.

However, those whispers were put to bed on Sunday when the French World Cup winner was presented to the media ahead of his first scheduled training session with his new team-mates on Monday.

He will then form part of the squad that will travel to Japan ahead of two friendlies against Chelsea (July 23) and Vissel Kobe (July 27).

Speaking at his unveiling ceremony, Griezmann said: "I'm very happy, I'm very excited and I'm looking forward to working with the squad and meeting my new team-mates.

"It's a new challenge and new targets. These are important things and I hope I can do as well as I can.

"All of them - La Liga, Copa del Rey, Champions League. They're the club's goals and my goals.

"With Sam [Umtiti] and Ousmane [Dembele], I have a very good relationship with both of them. I look forward to seeing them."

The former Real Sociedad striker also revealed his excitement at the prospect of playing with club legend Lionel Messi, who finished last season as La Liga's top scorer with 36 goals.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what Messi is like on a day-to-day basis in training," he said.

"Playing next to him will be an incredible joy."

The deal has been the subject of much dispute from Atletico, who claim they are set to open legal proceedings after negotiations, and a subsequent agreement, between the player and Barca allegedly took place when Griezmann's buyout clause remained at €200m.

They also questioned the conduct of both Barca and the player after it was reported that the two parties had been in negotiations and reached an agreement while Diego Simeone's side were still fighting for La Liga and the Champions League.



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