Highlights
- Antoine Griezmann loves playing Football Manager in his free time, as seen by his tweet of his Arsenal squad in the game in 2019.
- Griezmann's Arsenal squad on Football Manager 19 includes players like Jadon Sancho, Matthijs De Ligt, and Joao Felix.
- Griezmann's squad doesn't feature any real-life Arsenal players from the 2018/19 squad, and he even joked about Alexandre Lacazette being sold to Huddersfield.
What do footballers do when they’re not training or playing matches? Watch football and play football games, probably. That’s certainly the case as far as Antoine Griezmann is concerned.
To relax, Griezmann loves a bit of Football Manager it seems. Back in 2019, the Atletico Madrid star tweeted his 2023 Arsenal squad on Football Manager 19 which featured the likes of Jadon Sancho, Matthijs De Ligt and Joao Felix. He even suggested that he's won every trophy possible which is hardly surprising given the incredible quality in his side.
Let's take a look at how his Arsenal squad looked:
Goalkeeper | Hasan
We think Griezmann's first-choice goalkeeper is actually a regen. A regen is a 'fake' player who emerges as a youngster on the game once 'real life' players have retired. He does appear to have
Jamal Blackman on the bench as back-up goalkeeper. Blackman spent his youth at Chelsea but failed to make it Stamford Bridge after a number of loans away. He spent time in the United States at Los Angeles FC before spells at Huddersfield and Exeter. He's now at Burton Albion in League One.
Right back | Alexis Saelemaekers
Belgian defender, Alexis Saelemaekers is at right back. Now 24, Saelemaekers started his career at Anderlecht before being signed by AC Milan in 2020 for around £3 million. He's still at the Italian club, although he's been loaned to fellow Serie A club, Bologna, with an option to make the move permanent. He's been capped 11 times by Belgium
Left back | Andy Robertson
We can't see Andy Robertson leaving Liverpool for Arsenal in real life but Griezmann managed to convince the Scot to make the move to north London. Robertson has been at Liverpool since 2017 following Hull City's relegation to the Championship and has been an incredible servant for the club in the last six years.
Centre back | Matthijs de Ligt
Matthijs de Ligt made a name for himself as a young defender at Ajax and was signed by Juventus in 2019 for around £75 million. He spent three seasons in Italy before Bayern Munich signed him for a similar fee to which the Old Lady purchased him for. At just 24, De Ligt still has many years to establish himself as one of the best defenders in the world.
Centre back | Raphaël Varane
Joining De Ligt at the heart of defence is Raphael Varane. Now at Manchester United, the French defender would have been signed from Real Madrid in the game. Varane spent 10 seasons at the Bernabeu after being signed from Lens after just one season.
Central midfield | Bruno Fernandes
Another Manchester United player in Bruno Fernandes is in central midfield. In 2019, Bruno would have been playing for Sporting in Portugal. He attracted the attention of major European clubs when he scored 33 goals during the 2018/19 campaign, which promoted United to spend £67.6 million on him. He's been brilliant since making the move to Old Trafford and it seems strange to imagine him in an Arsenal shirt.
Central midfield | Frankie de Jong
Another player who made his name in an impressive Ajax side alongside De Ligt was Frenkie de Jong. The midfielder helped the Dutch side reach the Champions League semi finals before he was signed by Barcelona for €75 million in 2019. He's been at the Camp Nou ever since but his playing style would certainly suit Mikel Arteta's Arsenal.
Right wing | Francisco Trincão
Unlike the rest of the XI, Trincão hasn't quite made in at a major European club just yet. He attracted attention with his performances at Braga during the 2019/20 season with nine goals which saw Barcelona sign him for €31 million. He spent one season at the Camp Nou before spells on loan at Wolves and Sporting. He impressed during that spell in Portugal with 13 goals which saw Sporting sign him permanently. Trincão is still only 23 and Barca do have a buy-back clause.
Left wing | Jadon Sancho
It's easy to forget Jadon Sancho was a wonderkid back in 2019 at Borussia Dortmund. In the 2019/20 season, he scored 20 goals and followed that up with 16 the following campaign. Every major club in Europe was looking at him but it was Manchester United who won the race, signing him for £73 million. But his move to Borussia Dortmund has been disastrous. He scored just three Premier League goals in his first season and managed six during the 2022/23 campaign. But he's since fallen out with manager Erik ten Hag and his future at the Theatre of Dreams appears to be over.
Attacking midfield | Joao Felix
Joao Felix has spent time in London but it was on loan at Chelsea during the 2022/23 season where he scored four goals in 20 appearances. The Portuguese star made a name for himself at Benfica which saw Atletico Madrid pay a hefty £113 million to make him the fourth most expensive player at the time. He's still contracted to Atleti but is currently on loan to Barcelona.
Striker | Brian Brobbey
Brian Brobbey is still only 21 years old and is at boyhood club, Ajax. During the 2022/23 season, he scored 13 goals in Eredivisie and has already been capped for Netherlands. He appears to have a very bright future ahead of him.
Antoine Griezmann's Arsenal squad on Football Manager in 2023
Elsewhere on the bench, Griezmann has the likes Ryan Gravenberch, Ruben Neves, Chris Mepham and Phil Foden.
As you can see, there's not a single Arsenal player from the 2018/19 squad that is still at the club come 2023. And it's something that Alexandre Lacazette also noticed. At the time, he tweeted Griezmann asking where he was, to which the former Atletico Madrid man explained that he had just been sold to Huddersfield for £23.5m. But only after winning the Premier League, Carabao Cup, Champions League and the Super Cup.
