Eric Olhats, a key figure in Griezmann's career, described Messi as Barcelona's "emperor" and said he had not taken kindly to the arrival of the forward.
Éric Olhats, the scout who discovered Antoine Griezmann and later became the Barcelona player’s agent, has discussed the former Atlético Madrid forward’s difficulty in adapting to Camp Nou alongside Leo Messi and described the Argentina captain as an “emperor” presiding over a “reign of terror” at the club in an interview with France Football.
“Antoine arrived at a club where Messi has the final word on everything,” Olhats said. “He is as much an emperor as a monarch and he didn’t take kindly to the signing of Antoine. His attitude has been deplorable and he made him feel unwelcome. I’ve always disliked hearing Griezmann say that there are no issues with Messi but never the other way around. It’s a reign of terror. You’re either with him or against him.”
Messi "wouldn't speak to Griezmann or pass him the ball"
Olhats also suggested that the France international’s on-pitch troubles since he moved to Barça have been influenced by his relationship with Messi: “Griezmann is only going to try and solve his problems on the pitch, nothing more. He is never going to look to get into a conflict with anyone. He’s not like that at all. And it’s not that he lacks personality. He loves football and that’s it, he doesn’t want to get into arguments with anybody. I’ve seen him overcome so many difficult moments in his career. Last season, when Griezmann arrived, Messi didn’t speak to him and didn’t pass him the ball. I think he suffered because of a negative adaptation.”
Olhats has been a key figure in Griezmann’s career after spotting him in France and encouraging him to try out for Real Sociedad after he was rejected by a number of French clubs due to his size. In San Sebastián, Olhats acted as a mentor to the player and the two were practically inseparable when Griezmann was still a minor. Later he acted as the France international’s agent until 2016. Griezmann is now represented by his family through By and For Sports Management, which is run by his sister Maud.
dutekmntuy
810
Yes obviously messi is a MaGiCiAn that he made griezmann miss all the open chances and that penalty againt BETIS MESSI was on the bench how can he make him miss it ??? STOP BLAMING MESSI BARCA STYLE IS SIMPLY NOT FOR GRIEZMANN 🤡
0_football_knowledge
601
When someone perform good then they troll Messi and say he is in his shadow (Ansu Fati situation) ,When someone perform poor then it is Messi's fault if Messi scores Penalty he is trolled if he misses penalty then he is trolled if he doesn't score against small club then he is trolled if he scores against small club then also he is trolled if he wins the ballon d'or then he is trolled if he doesn't win ballon d'or then also he is trolled. It's not easy to be Lionel Messi
D10S_LM10
304
With all due respect Mr Eric Olhats, plz watch match and talk... Griezmann is missing open goal this season and if anything Messi is doing it's helping him. Please don't say unwanted things. ❤️💙
Diekoyz
170
After griezmann said he now seats on the same table with Messi and cr7 after winning the world cup and the Europa league I expected him to produce a performance worth that of Messi and cr7 but he started declining and finding a way to justify his poor performances
Luismessi
11
Don't try to be clever here, he said since his arrival. Messi attitude towards him is recent which is bad as a team captain. He should hv been making him feel better right from time. Even Coutinho's form might hv had something to do with Messi. Messi is a bad captain, I don't think he speaks or hv personal relationship with all the players as suppose of a captain. If barca fans are observant u will learn that ur downhill started when Messi became the part captain in 2017, became worse from 2019 as the first captain till date. Valverde was no where near a bad coach, he was just a victim of the "reign of terror" of Messi's captainship, look at Argentina as well. U continue to fall if u don't let him go elsewhere cos ur luckier than Argentina who will hv to endure another unsuccessful world cup campaign.
The same Messi that asked the fans to stop whistling against Coutinho, the same Messi that gave Coutinho "a lucky bracelet" given to him during the world cup by a reporter, then proceeded to give him(Coutinho) a penalty in that match to regain his confidence
VAR-IS-SHIT
11
Don't try to be clever here, he said since his arrival. Messi attitude towards him is recent which is bad as a team captain. He should hv been making him feel better right from time. Even Coutinho's form might hv had something to do with Messi. Messi is a bad captain, I don't think he speaks or hv personal relationship with all the players as suppose of a captain. If barca fans are observant u will learn that ur downhill started when Messi became the part captain in 2017, became worse from 2019 as the first captain till date. Valverde was no where near a bad coach, he was just a victim of the "reign of terror" of Messi's captainship, look at Argentina as well. U continue to fall if u don't let him go elsewhere cos ur luckier than Argentina who will hv to endure another unsuccessful world cup campaign.
if he's a bad captain, why does he always defend the team whenever criticized ? raising hands in the air and making noises isn't leadership... messi may not be among the best leaders, and it's true, but he is far from being bad... he's always vocal whenever someone criticize the team, while he never does a thing when, he is criticized alone, cuz he hardly cares about his criticism... if he's having bad relations with players, why do underperforming players not getting the role of a substitute now ? he's always comforting the underperforming players, it's you blinded by hate that you can't see it... valverde wasn't a terrible coach, but he wasn't good either... he was solely dependent on messi... messi may have saved him alot, but as a whole, the team was slowly deteriorating in quality... no one can say a "bad captain" always trusts in youngsters, otherwise, the player isn't a bad captain... and as for your argentina statement, if you are being completely depended upon by your teammates and coach, you can't expect to succeed... messi isn't a bad captain, but the time when he was made the captain, the circumstances weren't as good... maybe you are blinded by hatred, we are not blinded by affection
Luismessi
10
Don't try to be clever here, he said since his arrival. Messi attitude towards him is recent which is bad as a team captain. He should hv been making him feel better right from time. Even Coutinho's form might hv had something to do with Messi. Messi is a bad captain, I don't think he speaks or hv personal relationship with all the players as suppose of a captain. If barca fans are observant u will learn that ur downhill started when Messi became the part captain in 2017, became worse from 2019 as the first captain till date. Valverde was no where near a bad coach, he was just a victim of the "reign of terror" of Messi's captainship, look at Argentina as well. U continue to fall if u don't let him go elsewhere cos ur luckier than Argentina who will hv to endure another unsuccessful world cup campaign.
Yh Let's forget the fact that in his first season as captain he literally carried the whole team(I guess he is not a good captain) One match (against Liverpool) is all it took for you guys to brand him "a bad captain"
Cobykenneth
8
Being a good captain has nothing to do with his indiscipline approach to refs and board. He's creating tension in the squad and not organising things. His head down and vibes he gives off makes him a horrendous captain. I don't see Ronaldo or Ramos, Silva or Bayern's captain doing what he does yet they're better captain guiding their teams to titles. About him being depended on if u watch the game tactically u find out that Messi is the one that puts himself in that position of being depended on. Players in the national team and club find it difficult to express themselves cos Messi imposes himself on the pitch that they hv to finally give him the ball. One example, Messi in 2015 was shifted strictly to the right by Enrique against Messi's will, what happened? they won treble, MSN became alive. 2016 to 2017 Messi stubbornly started to come back to the middle diminishing the other 9 from bringing out their quality, Enrique started losing till he left. Messi is too much to handle, let him leave moreover if you want ur old Messi back u need a coach with liver that will strip him off the captain, and strictly put him on the right where the players can score to the goal and not score a short pass to Messi
🤦🏾♂️ so you took all this time to write all this just because of Messi. Mehn!!! I can feel all the hate you have for him