Antoine Griezmann is the all-time top scorer at Atletico Madrid with 197 goals in 442 games. The Frenchman was heavily linked with Los Angeles FC in MLS for a taper. On Monday, the 34-year-old instead put his signature pen on the contract funnel papers with the Atletico logo. For Alexander Sørloth, this can be of great significance.
Alexander Sørloth ended the La Liga season with four goals against Real Sociedad, a hat-trick against Girona. Thus, the super reserve ended with 20 league goals, the fourth highest scorer in Spain. Last week, reports came from Madrid that could greatly affect Sørloth’s position in the squad.
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There wasn’t much powder in Lautaro Martinez’s boots in this weekend’s Champions League final against PSG, but the Argentine striker, captain and top scorer of Inter Milan, has been a priority for Diego Simeone for years, and Atletico’s sporting director has, according to El Chiringuito, already initiated the first contacts to pursue a signing that would revolutionize the Metropolitano’s attacking line.
The collaboration between Lautaro and Julián has worked perfectly for the Argentine national team, where the two have alternated starting roles and complemented each other with mobility, pressure and scoring. The club’s vision is for Lautaro to be Julián’s ideal partner, with the two swapping positions and posing a constant threat to the opponent’s defence.
A prerequisite for clearing space for Martinez signing was a sale of Antoine Griezmann in the summer. The French striker had a contract until next summer, with pressure on had. Because on Monday, it was a smiling 34-year-old who is pictured in front of a newly signed contract until 2027.
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Thus, Diego
Simeone’s Martinez project is shelved. Griezmann took a solid chunk of playing time at the top of his game at Atletico this season in his 53 appearances on the pitch, but here Sørloth has an opportunity, with his 20 to Griezmann’s 8 La Liga goals, to grab more game time. Had Atletico invested 100 million euros in Martinez to build a super duo with Alvarez, this could definitely have had a negative impact on Sørloth’s playing time account.
