Diego Simeone Backs Antoine Griezmann to Succeed at Barcelona

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has backed Antoine Griezmann to succeed at Barcelona.

Griezmann joined the Catalan giants from Los Rojiblancos in a €120 million move in the summer.

Simeone said on Cadena Ser's El Larguero (h/t Sport) that he had recently caught up with the Frenchman:

"He's really happy, obviously he is where he wanted to be. He has talent and he's going to be fine. He's a good person, humble, he will know how to enter the group dynamic in the right manner. 

"He's a guy that doesn't talk much but gets involved a lot. He will slowly enter the group, step by step, calmly. He's a happy guy, and I don't have doubts he will do well."

On the prospect of having to fit Griezmann and Lionel Messi in the same side, he added: "That's a problem for [Barca manager Ernesto] Valverde, I have my own [problems]."

Messi has been forced to deny rumours that he didn't want the club to bring in Griezmann:

A foot injury prompted Messi to miss the first four matches of the season, and he was also absent for a game with an adductor problem, so he and Griezmann have only started together twice.

The new arrival has contributed three goals and two assists in nine matches, with his most recent goal—in the 2-1 win over Villarreal on September 24—assisted by Messi.

In Barcelona's last match, however, Griezmann was an unused substitute as Barca beat Sevilla 4-0.

Football writer Jeremy Smith felt for the forward:

His replacement in the starting lineup, Ousmane Dembele, was sent off late on in the match, and his resulting suspension should allow for Griezmann to make an immediate return to action following the international break.

Griezmann contributed 133 goals and 50 assists in 257 games for Atletico, tallies made all the more impressive given Simeone's defensive approach.

It's still early days in his career at the Camp Nou, and injuries have limited the time he's had to jell with his new team-mates. Given time to settle and develop chemistry with them, a player of Griezmann's talent can be an enormous asset to Barcelona.