'I made a mistake' - Antoine Griezmann apologises to Atletico Madrid fans in emotional farewell message

Antoine Griezmann apologised to Atletico Madrid supporters after he made his final appearance for the club over the weekend.

The 35-year-old will leave the Spanish capital when his contract expires this summer and has already signed a deal to join Major League Soccer side Orlando City.

Griezmann will depart Atletico Madrid as one of the club's best players and holds the record as their all-time top goalscorer with 212 goals in 500 appearances.

The Frenchman was also a creative threat and notched his 100th assist for the club as he signed off with a 1-0 win over Girona when he set up Ademola Lookman for the only goal of the game.

Atletico Madrid paid homage to their superstar following their final match of the La Liga season, where Griezmann gave a speech on the pitch, thanking supporters and apologising for his controversial move to Barcelona back in 2019.

Griezmann moved to the Camp Nou for an enormous €120 million when Barcelona paid his release clause. Atletico supporters were furious at the exit, but after a troubled two seasons at Barca, he returned to the Spanish capital on a two-season loan, which was made permanent after a year.

"Thank you all for staying behind. This is amazing," Griezmann said in a speech to fans.

"This is important. I know many of you have already, and some still haven't, but I apologise again. I didn't realise how much love I had here. I was very young, and I made a mistake. I came back to my senses, and we did everything we could to enjoy life here again."

Griezmann joined Atletico Madrid from Real Sociedad in 2014 and developed into one of the best attackers under the guidance of Diego Simeone.

The French forward only lifted one major trophy during his time at the club, when they won the Europa League in 2018. Atletico also won a La Liga title in 2021, but that came when Griezmann was at Barcelona. He was also part of the France squad that won the World Cup in 2018 but has since retired from international duty and will not represent his nation in North America this summer.

He added: "Thanks to you [Simeone] there's so much excitement in this stadium. Thanks to you I became a world champion and I felt like the best in the world. I owe you so much, and it's been an honour to fight for you.

"I haven't been able to bring home a LaLiga title or a Champions League trophy, but this love is worth more. I'll carry it with me for the rest of my life."