Antoine Griezmann is in an environment that doesn’t help him thrive, proclaims Martin Lasarte

The former World Cup winner was supposed to be the man that transformed Barcelona’s team this term but things since Griezmann’s €120 million summer move hasn’t gone according to plan. Instead, the Frenchman arrived at a club that has struggled to find the right place for the striker with him shifted across the field in the hopes that the right combination would be found. That was before the La Liga giants sacked Ernesto Valverde and replaced him with Quique Setien but things haven’t changed under the former Real Betis coach either.

Instead, while Antoine Griezmann has played every league game since Setien was appointed, the Frenchman has managed to score only one goal which has seen him dropped to the bench in recent games. But in an interview, Griezmann’s former Real Sociedad coach Martin Lasarte has claimed that the environment at Barcelona has played a part in the Frenchman’s struggles. Lasarte also added that the 29-year-old looks like a “caricature of himself” with him running around senselessly.

"What you see of Griezmann is like a caricature of himself. I see him sad, with his head down, running without much sense. The coach has every right to make changes whenever he wants but I do not feel the other night [against Atletico] helped Griezmann's psychological situation. When things don't go well for a player, the coach should be there to support and help," Lasarte revealed, reported Goal.

“Of course, Antoine will have his responsibility but there is an environment that does not help him to succeed. It would have been better if he had gone to Barca a year earlier. I have the feeling that when he said he was staying at Atletico something broke with the Barca dressing room."