{"id":894463,"date":"2026-03-26T05:17:48","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T10:17:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/26\/orlando-city-sign-french-superstar-antoine-griezmann-mlssoccer-com\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T05:17:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T10:17:48","slug":"orlando-city-sign-french-superstar-antoine-griezmann-mlssoccer-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/26\/orlando-city-sign-french-superstar-antoine-griezmann-mlssoccer-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Orlando City sign French superstar Antoine Griezmann | MLSSoccer.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soccer <\/p>\n

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TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS:<\/strong> Signing<\/em><\/p>\n

Orlando City<\/a> completed a blockbuster transfer on Tuesday, announcing they have acquired forward Antoine Griezmann<\/a> from LaLiga side Atl\u00e9tico Madrid.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The French superstar will formally join Orlando in July after he completes the 2025-26 season with Atl\u00e9tico.<\/p>\n

Griezmann, who has long been rumored with an MLS move, is under contract through the 2027-28 MLS season with an option for 2028-29. The FIFA World Cup<\/a> champion will be a Designated Player.<\/p>\n

“Bringing Antoine to Orlando is a landmark moment not only for our club, but for our city, our supporters and for Major League Soccer,” said Mark Wilf, Orlando City owner & chairman.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“He is one of the most gifted, accomplished and influential players of his generation, and his decision to choose Orlando City reflects the mission and culture of our club.<\/p>\n

“Our focus is on consistently building a championship-caliber roster every year, and adding a world-class player like Antoine reinforces that commitment and our belief in what the club can achieve.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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A generational pull \ud83d\ude09 pic.twitter.com\/XoqVtLucgp<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) March 24, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n

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French legend<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

Memorably, Griezmann helped France win the 2018 FIFA World Cup alongside\u00a0LAFC<\/a> goalkeeper Hugo Lloris<\/a>. They also reached the 2022 World Cup final, where they lost\u00a0on penalties to Argentina and\u00a0Inter Miami CF<\/a> stars\u00a0Lionel Messi<\/a> and Rodrigo De Paul<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Griezmann became one of France’s most decorated players before retiring from international soccer in 2024. His 137 caps are tied with Olivier Giroud for the third-most in program history, while his 44 goals are fourth-most behind Thierry Henry.<\/p>\n

“Antoine is a complete footballer \u2013 creative, intelligent, clinical \u2013 and he is a proven winner on the biggest stages of the game,” said Ricardo Moreira, Orlando City general manager & sporting director.<\/p>\n

“Beyond his talent, he brings leadership, a relentless drive and a championship mentality that will elevate everyone around him. This is a statement signing for our club and ownership group, and we are thrilled to welcome Antoine and his family to Orlando.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Proven on the world\u2019s biggest stages \ud83c\udfc6 pic.twitter.com\/pV0nMt5593<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) March 24, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n

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Proven scorer<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

Griezmann is Atl\u00e9tico’s all-time leading scorer with 211 goals and 97 assists in 488 matches. He helped them claim the 2017-18 UEFA Europa League, one of eight trophies won for club or country.<\/p>\n

Griezmann has also played in Spain’s top flight for FC Barcelona and Real Sociedad, contributing to 298 goals and 132 assists in 792 professional games. He was named the 2015-16 LaLiga Player of the Year and twice placed third in Ballon d’Or voting (2016, ’18).<\/p>\n

“I am very excited to begin this next chapter of my career with Orlando City,” said Griezmann.<\/p>\n

“From my first conversations with the club, I could feel a strong ambition and a clear vision for the future, and that really spoke to me. I look forward to making Orlando my new home, meeting the supporters, feeling the energy at Inter&Co Stadium, and giving everything I have to help the team achieve great things.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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A ridiculous r\u00e9sum\u00e9 \ud83d\udd25 pic.twitter.com\/hiB6gCqur5<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) March 24, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n

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New challenge<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

Griezmann is Orlando’s latest big-name signing, following previous stints with\u00a0Brazilian midfielder Kak\u00e1 (2015-17) and Portuguese winger Nani (2019-21).<\/p>\n

He completes the club’s DP trio alongside Croatian international Marco Pa\u0161ali\u0107<\/a> and Argentine playmaker Mart\u00edn Ojeda<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Lions have made the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs in six straight years. In early March, they mutually parted ways with<\/a> longtime head coach Oscar Pareja.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>Michele Drews<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soccer TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Signing Orlando City completed a blockbuster transfer on Tuesday, announcing they have acquired forward Antoine Griezmann from LaLiga side Atl\u00e9tico Madrid. The French superstar will formally join Orlando in July after he completes the 2025-26 season with Atl\u00e9tico. Griezmann, who has long been rumored with an MLS move, is under contract […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":894464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[890,804,2005],"tags":[8679,6614],"class_list":{"0":"post-894463","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-french","8":"category-orlando","9":"category-soccer","10":"tag-french","11":"tag-orlando"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=894463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894463\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/894464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=894463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=894463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=894463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}