As Barcelona sour on Antoine Griezmann transfer, The Decision comes back to haunt the Atletico Madrid star

Griezmann made a documentary series to reveal his transfer choice last year. What seemed a breakthrough moment in sports media at controlling the narrative has proven to be a costly move for an immensely talented player tainted by those decisions

“Welcome to my city where the lights are really pretty, no statue for a critic, we don’t kneel for anyone… Kings be falling, crowds be shouting, change is coming, 'cause we don't run from anyone.”

Amanda Delara’s We Don’t Run from Anyone was the song that Antoine Griezmann chose to soundtrack the biggest announcement of his life, immortalised in the docuseries The Decision, that he was turning down a huge offer to join Barcelona - the club of Lionel Messi, Xavi, Johan Cruyff and Joan Gamper – to remain with Atletico Madrid.

It made sense in some ways. In the wake of Zinedine Zidane’s resignation as Real Madrid boss and talk that Cristiano Ronaldo was preparing to leave the club, Atleti went into this season with their best chance of a league or Champions League title in years. Loaded with extra talent, Diego Simeone began the season with great hopes.

Fast-forward 10 months and things are a little different.

Kings be falling, in this case Griezmann himself. The World Cup winner took Atleti’s elimination from the Champions League particularly hard and within days his camp were already putting out the feelers to find him a new club – presumably instructed to do so by the man himself. The king of Atletico’s stock has fallen both within the club, disappointed by his latest turn, and outside it, where clubs are afraid to get in bed with football’s most controversial documentary maker despite his exceptional talent.

Crowds be shouting, because Griezmann’s future clearly lies away from the Wanda Metropolitano even if it’s unclear where. Yes, he’d like to depart but the way he conducted business last summer has made waves across Europe. “Would you really touch him after that?” one agent who works across continent rhetorically asks. Manchester United, once a strong suitor, are among those distancing themselves from a deal.

Change is coming, because Atletico’s dream run can’t go on forever. Simeone has managed to keep this side together for a long time now, but the big guns from Manchester are coming for Saul and Rodrigo, the heart of their midfield, while Diego Godin is expected to join Inter this summer. Lucas Hernandez is joining Bayern. It’s difficult having the heart ripped out of your team but even moreso when your team relies so heavily on heart.

“We don’t run from anyone” concludes Griezmann’s decision video, but clubs are running from him. Barcelona, offered the chance to sign him for the salary they offered him last summer - €16m – rather than his current pay packet at Atletico - €23m – still weren’t keen. PSG and Bayern were offered the chance to sign him this summer, but prefer other targets for now. United, as above, have different priorities at the moment while the same can be said for City.

Antoine Griezmann has made a lot of money and he’s made a groundbreaking documentary series but, most of all, he appears to have made a fairly significant mistake.

In short, he has pissed off the one club that was more ready than most to gamble on his talent.

Respected Barcelona talent-spotter Carles Rexach - most famous for signing a teenaged Lionel Messi on a napkin, which as achievements go is fairly spectacular – is the latest in a chorus of voices advising the club against returning to the table.

“I wouldn’t sign Griezmann. He has the Barca style but I didn’t like the ‘I’m going, I’m staying’ and, what’s more, footballistically he plays where Messi plays.”

The doubts over signing Griezmann extend to the Barcelona squad, according to the latest reports to emerge from the city, which carries more weight at Spain’s biggest clubs than almost anywhere else. It could be argued that the Barca squad were already too involved in The Decision as it was, with Gerard Pique’s production company, Kosmos, behind it all.

Griezmann's decision not to join Barcelona appears to have backfired (AFP/Getty) (Getty)

While Pique’s ever-expanding web of business interests was wrapped up in the production of Griezmann’s docuseries, the club themselves were still none the wiser. Pique insisted he didn’t know what would happen – alternate endings were reportedly shot for the final episode - but, if anything, that Pique was part of this whole charade was seen more as a cast-iron guarantee that Griezmann would trade Madrid for Barcelona. Capital for Catalunya.

It is probably why it has left such a bitter taste in the mouth of the club when he shunned them. Well, that and the fact they were forced into a last-minute deal for Malcom. As for Pique, some of Barca’s older, crankier directors and officials have, at times, bristled at the defender’s rapidly-growing business empire, his appearances on talk shows and the like. Considering he would make a magnificent club president, the club should probably be smarter in embracing his talents and what that could do for a modern sporting business, but the murky conflicting interests of last summer are undoubtedly bleeding into this one – and it’s harming Griezmann.

Gauging the interest of the few clubs who could afford to sign Griezmann, the waning interest in him obviously has a floor. If the price were to come down enough then plenty would be keen, but Atletico are never going to let that happen. For them to let him go, the fee needs to be high and with another year and several thousand more miles on the clock, teams are more willing to punt their Gazprom dollars on a Callum Hudson-Odoi or a Jadon Sancho, who would cost less in both salary and transfer fees.

It’s not even a year since Griezmann made The Decision, and it already looks a bad one.