France Legend Antoine Griezmann calls it a quit with the France national team
Antoine Griezmann has announced his retirement from international football, having amassed 137 caps over 10 years in the France setup.
Griezmann made his Bleus debut in a friendly against the Netherlands in March 2014 and went on to play a vital role for Didier Deschamps’ side at six major tournaments.
Griezmann scored in the 2018 World Cup final as France beat Croatia to win their second crown in Russia, also shining as they reached the 2022 final, only to lose to Argentina.
The 33-year-old also helped his country win the 2020-21 edition of the Nations League and finished as the leading goalscorer at Euro 2016, where France were runners-up to Portugal on home soil.
In a video posted to his social media channels, Griezmann said: “It is with a heart full of memories that I close this chapter of my life.
“Thank you for this magnificent tricolour adventure and see you soon.”
Only Hugo Lloris (145) and Lillian Thuram (142) have won more caps for France than Griezmann, who is tied for third in their all-time appearance charts with Olivier Giroud.
His tally of 44 goals makes him the fourth-highest scorer in France’s history, while he has also provided the most assists (30) of any Bleus player since records began in 1966.
Griezmann made 116 starts for his country, the third-highest total of any player in their history, while he also enjoyed a record-breaking run of 84 successive caps, which ended earlier this year when he missed his first France game in seven years – a friendly defeat to Germany in March.
He scored four times during France’s triumphant run at the 2018 World Cup but made his most decisive impact at the European Championships.
Only Cristiano Ronaldo (14) and compatriot Michel Platini (nine) have bettered his total of seven goals at the Euros, six of which came in 2016 – only Platini (nine at Euro 1984) has ever scored more at a single edition of the tournament.
Griezmann’s announcement comes one day after he brought up his 500th LaLiga appearance in Atletico Madrid’s derby draw with Real Madrid, becoming only the second non-Spanish player to hit that milestone after Lionel Messi (520).
Sevilla icon Jesus Navas, meanwhile, is the only active player to make more appearances than Griezmann in the competition, playing 508 games.
Griezmann is just the eighth player overall to reach 500 LaLiga matches, with 285 of his appearances coming for Atleti, 141 for Real Sociedad and 74 for Barcelona.
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