Atletico Madrid

Antoine Griezmann hails influence of manager Diego Simeone

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 15 February 2017

Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Greizmann says that Diego Simeone is the key man behind his prolific scoring rate over the past three years.

Antoine Griezmann has admitted that he has Diego Simeone to thank for turning him into one of the world's most feared strikers during his time with Atletico Madrid.

The France international joined the Rojiblancos from La Liga rivals Real Sociedad in 2014 and has since gone on to score 73 goals in 139 appearances for the club.

Griezmann's consistent form has seen him linked with an £80m summer switch to Manchester United, which he appeared to play down this week, and the third-place finisher at the 2016 Ballon d'Or insists that he has one man in particular to thank for his success.

"He's changed me. He's brought so many things to my game that it's hard to even begin to say what they are," he told FIFA.com. "Let's just say that I wouldn't have been regarded as one of the best players in the world if it weren't for him.

"More than anything he's helped me to be more effective in front of goal, to take every chance that comes my way, and, of course, to run and run and work hard for the team. You can't make it at Atletico if you don't do that."

Griezmann, who found the net 52 times in 202 games for Sociedad, finished behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the recent Ballon d'Or standings.