Orlando City Signs Atletico Madrid Legend Antoine Griezmann

Although Orlando City fans will have to wait a while longer to see Antoine Griezmann don the purple kit and become a Lion, at least the ambiguity is over. The Wilf family, Ricardo Moreira, and Orlando City have their man, as the club announced today it has signed the French international and Atletico Madrid star forward/attacking midfielder through 2027-2028 with an option year for 2028-2029. The announcement ends weeks of speculation, conflicting reports, and rumors, as the talented attacker will join the Lions during the summer window as the team’s third Designated Player for an undisclosed club-record fee.

Griezmann will wear his familiar No. 7 jersey with Orlando and will join the Lions in July.

“Bringing Antoine to Orlando is a landmark moment not only for our club, but for our city, our supporters and for Major League Soccer,” Orlando City Owner and Chairman Mark Wilf said in a club press release. “He is one of the most gifted, accomplished and influential players of his generation, and his decision to choose Orlando City reflects the mission and culture of our club. Our focus is on consistently building a championship-caliber roster every year, and adding a world-class player like Antoine reinforces that commitment and our belief in what the club can achieve.”

“Antoine is a complete footballer—creative, intelligent, clinical—and he is a proven winner on the biggest stages of the game,” Orlando City General Manager and Sporting Director Ricardo Moreira said in the club’s release. “Beyond his talent, he brings leadership, a relentless drive and a championship mentality that will elevate everyone around him. This is a statement signing for our club and ownership group, and we are thrilled to welcome Antoine and his family to Orlando.”

The native of Mâcon, France, who turned 35 on Saturday, will become a Lion this summer after staying on with Atleti through the 2025-2026 season  in an attempt to win both UEFA Champions League and the Copa Del Rey with the club he has played for since returning in 2021 after a previous stint with the Colchoneros from 2014 to 2019.

During his storied career in Spain, Griezmann has appeared in 792 matches with Atlético de Madrid, Barcelona and Real Sociedad scoring 298 goals and adding 132 assists.

“I am very excited to begin this next chapter of my career with Orlando City,” Griezmann said in the release. “From my first conversations with the club, I could feel a strong ambition and a clear vision for the future, and that really spoke to me. I look forward to making Orlando my new home, meeting the supporters, feeling the energy at Inter&Co Stadium, and giving everything I have to help the team achieve great things.”

Griezmann played youth soccer in France before impressing Real Sociedad in his early teens and joining the Spanish club’s academy. After four years in the club’s youth setup, Griezmann broke into the first team in 2009 as an 18-year old. He made 180 appearances in five seasons in San Sebastian, where he scored 46 goals, before Atletico Madrid paid his buyout and signed him on July 28, 2014. During his first stint with Atleti, Griezmann appeared in 180 matches and scored 94 goals across five seasons. In Griezmann’s first five seasons with Atletico Madrid, the club won the 2014 Supercopa de Espana, the 2017-2018 UEFA Europa League, and the 2018 UEFA Super Cup, and helped Atleti finish second in the 2015-2016 UEFA Champions League.

Following the 2018-2019 La Liga season, Barcelona activated the Frenchman’s €120 million buyout clause and signed him, although Atletico Madrid disputed the amount of the buyout clause at the time. The deal was ultimately upheld. Griezmann scored 22 goals across 74 matches with Barcelona. While with Barcelona, he helped the team win the 2020-2021 Copa del Rey.

He was loaned back to Atletico Madrid for a season in 2021 and the club extended that loan but limited Griezmann’s playing time to avoid triggering the automatic purchase clause in the loan contract. Eventually, Atleti made a permanent purchase of Griezmann’s rights. In his second stint with the club, Griezmann has racked up another 43 goals in 126 appearances thus far and led La Liga in assists in 2022-2023.

On the international level, Griezmann has represented France at the U-19, U-20, U-21, and senior levels. He helped France win the UEFA U-19 European Championship in 2010 and was named to the all-tournament team. For the senior team, he’s bagged 44 goals in 137 appearances, helped France win the 2018 FIFA World Cup and finish second in 2022 – leading all players in assists in the competition both years and winning the FIFA Bronze Ball and FIFA Silver Boot in 2018 – and was also involved in his country’s 2020-2021 UEFA Nations League title and second-place finish in the 2016 UEFA European Championship.

Griezmann has twice finished third in Ballon d’Or voting (2016, 2018), was named La Liga Best Player in 2015-2016, is an eight-time winner of La Liga Player of the Month, and made the La Liga Team of the Season five times.

What It Means for Orlando City

The Lions get one of the best players in the European leagues, who can not only score goals himself but also set them up for others. His attacking quality, soccer IQ, and ability to read the game are unquestionable strengths that can help Orlando City, and he plays defense like it’s his primary job, tracking much deeper than most offensive stars (I saw him block a cross at his own end line on Sunday against Real Madrid). This is a big investment for a player north of age 35, but Griezmann has been instrumental in his team’s run in Champions League. Atletico Madrid made the knockout round after going 4-3-1 in the league phase to qualify. He’s helped his side reach the quarterfinals of the competition against La Liga rival Barcelona starting April 8. On April 18, he’ll lead his team in the Copa Del Rey final against Real Sociedad. Those are the primary reasons he didn’t sign with Orlando City in time for the MLS primary transfer window.

Orlando City will need to utilize Griezmann’s unique skillsets the right way. This is not a player you stick over at left wing and expect to succeed. His game requires freedom and movement, changing places with other players, and going where he needs to go. He had that at Atletico Madrid but not at Barcelona, which is why he was more successful with Atleti. He and Messi often tried to occupy the same areas when they played together with Barcelona, much like how Martin Ojeda and Facu Torres sometimes got in each other’s way when the former first arrived in Orlando.

While the way the team has been playing isn’t making fans optimistic that Griezmann can make a difference in a 2026 playoff berth at the moment, it’s a long season and evaluations are ongoing both of the current roster and the coaching situation. As bleak as things look at the moment, there’s no telling what the situation will look like when Griezmann gets to Orlando. However, he will bring world-class experience, a lot of talent, and the ability to make players around him better. The team will need that, of course, but it will make little difference if the back end of the team doesn’t get better – at least for this season. Moving forward, having a player like Griezmann in the team is a great recruiting tool for bringing other quality players to the club.

If nothing else, this shows the club and its ownership group have ambition. This is not the move of a team looking to pinch pennies or cut corners. This is a major piece that can push a team over the top, although (again) that depends a lot on shoring up the defense.