Atletico Madrid 'won't allow' Antoine Griezmann to participate in Paris 2024 Olympics: Report

The French star will also miss the March international matches break due to an injury

Atletico Madrid reportedly do not want to permit 32-year-old Antoine Griezmann to compete in the summer Olympics in Paris, according to RMC Sport.

Along with Kylian Mbappé (25), and Olivier Giroud (37), the forward was reportedly one of the three older players who Thierry Henry would like to include in his France under-23 team, reports suggested earlier this month. Atlético Madrid may still give in, and Henry has months to select his roster, so nothing has been determined in either scenario as of yet. As things stand, though, the Spanish team would prefer that Griezmann stay with the team throughout the Olympic Games.

Didier Deschamps’ first choice on the squad sheet is Griezmann, but he is not available for France’s friendly against Chile and Germany. Due to an ankle injury, the Atletico Madrid attacker will not be included in the starting lineup for the first time since November 2016.

After arriving for service in Clairefontaine on Monday, he played 45 minutes in Atleti’s 3-0 loss to Barcelona on Sunday. Deschamps had included him in the first squad last week, but his physician has since ruled him out.

Since an unutilized substitute in a June 2017 friendly against England, Griezmann had appeared on the field in a stunning 84 straight games for Les Blues. From his debut in 2014, the 32-year-old has made 127 appearances for France and scored 44 goals.

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His performance during France‘s journey to the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar was outstanding, and Deschamps has a special place for him. He declared him “not irreplaceable but essential” and then revealed that Matteo Guendouzi, a former midfielder for Arsenal, had been called up to replace him.

Although he hasn’t played for the team since the World Cup, Guendouzi has recently been playing well for Lazio. Other injury concerns for Deschamps to worry about include Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate, who has missed his team’s last three games. Ibou had a few little nagging issues, and he just had a season in which he played extensively, according to Deschamps.

France’s final training sessions for the international competition this summer are matches against Chile three days later in Marseille and against Euro 2024 hosts Germany on March 23 in Lyon. They play Austria in Dusseldorf on June 17 to start their campaign. The Netherlands is the other guaranteed team in Group D; the play-offs will determine which team finishes second.

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