Antoine Griezmann instantly breaks incredible Lionel Messi record in LaLiga
03/29/2025 12:34 PM
By stepping on the pitch away at Espanyol, Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann took an incredible piece of LaLiga history.
The French World Cup winner was making his 521st appearance in the Spanish top flight, a new record for a foreign player.
The forward surpasses Argentine Lionel Messi, who he played with at Barcelona between 2019 and 2021.
Messi racked up his previous record of 520 solely with the Catalan side, while Griezmann has also featured for Real Sociedad, where he started out.
The breakdown of Griezmann's record is 306 for Atleti, 141 for Sociedad, and 74 for Barcelona.
It leaves him in sole possession of ninth in the overall appearance list, only two from Real Madrid's Manuel Sanchis in eighth.
Next up in his sights would be long-time rival Sergio Ramos, but how far Griezmann goes depends very much on the next few months.
The 34-year-old has a contract at the Metrapolitano until 2026, but he's been continually linked with a move to MLS, where he's said he'd like to finish his career.
A huge NBA fan, Griezmann could well make the jump now or stay with an Atleti side in the mix for trophies again.
However, if he did decide to call time and request a move this summer so Atelti get a fee, it wouldn't be his first shock.
The striker retired from France duty last year essentially out of nowhere, with reports he was disappointed to be overlooked as the captaincy went to Kylian Mbappe after Hugo Lloris’ retirement.
With France Griezmann won the 2018 World Cup, and with Atleti he has a Europa League, Spanish Super Cup and European Super Cup.
Yet a LaLiga title has been elusive, having joined from Sociedad in 2014 after Atleti won the title.
He then spent two uneventful years at Barcelona from 2019 to 2021, when Diego Simeone again masterminded another triumph in 2021.
It looks like Atleti are out of the picture this season, seven points behind leaders Barca, but that's no fault of Griezmann who continues to rack up records in other categories.
In 2023 he became his side's record goalscorer, and has extended that run, now 192, ahead of Luis Aragones' 173.
He's also 12th in appearances for Atleti, ahead of Fernando Torres and quickly approaching the top ten.
