FIFA 20: Barcelona move spells ratings boost for Antoine Griezmann

Atletico Madrid ended the 2018/19 season very well, finishing in second place, eight points ahead of rivals Real Madrid. They secured Champions league football for the seventh successive season, and remained one of the most feared sides in Europe.

There were lots of standout players over the past few years, but Antoine Griezmann has been the main man. He scored 15 goals in La Liga last season and bagged eight assists.

He puts in a shift on the pitch and his impressive work rate and goal scoring ability earned him a well-deserved move to Barcelona, and a potential upgrade to his overall on FIFA 20. For €120 million you’d hope that would be the case.

RealSport looks at what impact this will have on the new EA Sports game coming this September.

One of FIFA’s best

With an 89 overall in FIFA 19, Antoine Griezmann has never been rated higher. With 92 finishing, 91 positioning and 90 agility he has a quality card on FUT. He’s a very well-rounded striker and felt superb on the game.

The only players better in his position were Cristiano Ronaldo (OVR 94), Lionel Messi (OVR 94), Luis Suarez (OVR 91), Harry Kane (OVR 90) and Robert Lewandowski (OVR 90). It’s perhaps time for Griezmann joined them in the elite 90 category.

READ MORE: All the FUT 20 Ones to Watch

One of the world’s best

Antoine Griezmann finished third in the 2018 Ballon d’Or. He placed above so many amazing players including Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, thanks to a brilliant World Cup campaign with champions France. He surely deserves a rating to match in FIFA 20.

Griezmann is already a La Liga veteran and has spent most his career there. He has already proven himself at Sociedad and Atletico.

Having just signed for Barcelona to bolster there already very impressive attack. The 28-year-old forward is likely to play on the left of a typical Barca front three. With Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez up there alongside him, Griezmann will return to the position where he made his name.

At Real Sociedad he lined up as a left midfielder or left winger, and did the same for his first season or so in Madrid. At Sociedad he ended on an 82 OVR on FIFA 14, with his final LW base card at Atletico rated at 83 on FIFA 15.

The extra quality that Griezmann adds to this lucrative strike force, should send Barcelona to another La Liga title and potentially a long-awaited Champions League trophy.

Think of the crazy movement between the three forwards of Messi, Suarez & Griezmann (which we’re going to dub “MSG”) finding space in the box and sticking the ball away.

The trio scored 93 goals between them last season, and this could break the 100-goal mark with them all playing together.

In his prime

At 28, Griezmann has been playing some incredible football over the past year. Winning the World Cup and securing an impressive 7.29 match rating in his 37 La Liga appearances.

Messi and Suarez, however, are the wrong side of 30.

The pair scored 76 goals last season, but 51 of those were from the main man Messi. With both players now aged 32, you wonder how much longer they can go on for – with Suarez’s 25 goals the worse goals-to-game ratio he has had since moving to the Camp Nou five years ago.

Barca’s front three on FIFA 21?So Griezmann may line up on the left in his first season, but it is likely that in a year or two’s time he will take up the main striking role. Don’t forget the bright young talent of Ousmane Dembele, also a World Cup winner, is still at the club, and he will be competing for a starting place.

The 90s club

A 90 overall seems fitting for Griezmann, looking at a major increase in his passing stat and also a noticeable effect his shooting, with a large bolster to the free kicks. His physicality will sit in the low 70s because of his impressive stamina and jumping. Making him look like an impressive and useable card in this year’s game.

FIFA 20 will be Antoine’s year. It’s high time he picked up that 90 overall rating.

If it goes to plan for the French international, we could see more silverware and even a European Championship, which kicks off in the summer of 2020.

Should that happen, he could be in the running for the best player on the game in FIFA 21.

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