He can't leave Atleti – Gabi hopes for Griezmann stay

The Frenchman has been strongly linked with a move to Barcelona, but his team-mate is hopeful his scoring exploits might convince him to stay

Atletico Madrid captain Gabi hopes his team’s Europa League success convinces Antoine Griezmann to stay at the Primera Division club.

Griezmann was the hero in Lyon on Wednesday, scoring a brace to guide Atletico to a 3-0 win over Marseille in the final.

But the France international is linked with a move to Barcelona in the close-season despite being contracted until 2022.

Article continues below

Editors' Picks

Juve on alert: Exiled Icardi may have already played his final game for Inter Sarri vindicated for dropping Kepa as Chelsea & Pedro impress in Spurs win Magnificent Mane takes centre stage as league leaders Liverpool put on a five-star show Lukaku sends reminder that his Man Utd career is far from over

Gabi said the 27-year-old’s team-mates had already tried to convince Griezmann to stay and he hopes the trophy helps.

“We already told him a couple of things… he can’t leave us,” he told reporters.

“Let’s hope today’s performance convinces him to stay there.”

Asked if Griezmann – who refused to discuss his future after the win – was thinking about his decision, Gabi said: “Yes, of course.

“Otherwise he would be in another team now.”

Griezmann has scored 29 goals this season, with the Europa League crown his second trophy at Atletico since arriving from Real Sociedad in 2014.