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Antoine Griezmann to Wear Number 17 at Barcelona as He Reveals Desire to Win Trophies
Barcelona have confirmed that new signing Antoine Griezmann will wear the number 17 shirt next season.
The Frenchman recently sealed a controversial €120m switch from Atletico Madrid, insisting that he is ready to give his all to fight for his new side.
Ready. Set. Go pic.twitter.com/pb493ObnFf
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 14, 2019
Barcelona took to their official website to confirm Griezmann's new squad number, noting he will take the number 17 from Jeison Murillo, who left the club this summer after his loan deal expired.
He follows in the footsteps of fellow Frenchmen Emmanuel Petit and Philippe Christanval, both of whom wore the number 17 during their respective times at Camp Nou. More recently, it has been worn by Pedro, Alex Song, Munir, Paco Alcacer and Murillo, but his return to Valencia (and subsequent move to Sampdoria) left the number 17 shirt open for Griezmann.
Since 2010, he has exclusively worn the number 7, but that shirt is currently taken by record signing Philippe Coutinho. There were plenty of rumours that Coutinho would be sold to facilitate Griezmann's move to Camp Nou, but he now seems set to stay and fight Griezmann for a place in the starting lineup.
Speaking at his presentation to journalists, Griezmann insisted that he has moved to Barcelona to compete for trophies, but also to play alongside Lionel Messi.
He said: "I want to be an important player at this great club, and I will try to win La Liga, as well as the Copa del Rey and the Champions League - the trophies missing from my curriculum.
"It's always difficult to leave somewhere in which you are comfortable. I have a lot of admiration and respect for Atletico Madrid, and I gave my all for them, right to the end. However, now I want a new challenge, I want to better myself and step out of my comfort zone.
"I'm very happy [to play with Messi]. It's a joy for me to play alongside him. He is the number one player for me, like Lebron James in the NBA. He is someone that every player can look up to, and he will be a legend to my children -and my children's children in the future."
