Griezmann says his Barca spell wasn't a disaster but Camp Nou life was difficult

Antoine Griezmann claims his time at Barcelona 'wasn't a disaster' but opened up on how 'difficult' his time at the Camp Nou was before his return to Atletico Madrid.

The French forward moved to the Catalans in a £100million move in 2019 but failed to reach the heights he made at Atleti. Griezmann hit 15 goals in each of his five seasons under Diego Simeone but failed to do it once in his two years at Barcelona.

Griezmann played over 100 times for Barcelona in those two seasons but admitted he wanted to play even more before he sealed a loan move back to Atleti at the start of this season.

'I was very happy to go [to Barcelona],' the 30-year-old told Telefoot. 'I had incredible team-mates.

'I learned a lot from the coaches, although sometimes I didn't play and it was difficult.

'It wasn't a disaster either, because I've always scored almost 20 goals every season. For me, it is a great pride to have played at Barcelona.'

Griezmann has endured a mixed start to life back at Atleti. While the Frenchman has scored three goals in three Champions League matches so far this season, he failed to score in his first six LaLiga matches back at the Wanda Metropolitano.

However, Griezmann is starting to get back on form at club level, with two goals and an assist in his last three league matches at Atleti.

The Frenchman, who was adored at Atleti before breaking their fans' hearts to move to Barcelona two years ago, admitted he was concerned about how the supporters would react when he made his return to the Wanda Metropolitano this year.

But Griezmann has hinted that Barcelona did not give him a lot of love by saying that Atleti and their iconic boss Simeone have a lot of confidence in him nowadays.

'I was worried,' Griezmann revealed when asking about his return. 'I know I got off to a bad start, but I knew I was going to do my best on the pitch to get the spirits up and so far everything is going really well.

'I think they love me there for who I am, so it's perfect for everyone. It's true, I have a coach who trusts me, a club that trusts me.

'My wife is happy, my children are happy. I am very happy whether off or on the pitch.'