What if Antoine Griezmann is the personality Barcelona need?

Last year Barcelona were on the verge of the treble. La Liga was wrapped up and only a second leg against Liverpool and wins in both the Champions League and Copa del Rey finals would secure this incarnation of the Blaugrana immortality. It would have given the oft-criticized Ernesto Valverde a level of immunity shared by Luis Enrique after his treble-winning season in 2015. Instead, of that immortality, Gerard Piqué reminded us all of the cloud that currently hangs over the current squad. "I think that on a mental level," the Catalan said, "some people were affected by what happened in Rome because we had it very recently. With the first goal, which was very fast, unconsciously you see the image of Rome."

Quotes like that and moments of Anfield remind us that Barcelona players, for all the pressure and fame that come with being at a top club and collecting pay checks that reflect professional value, are still just flesh and blood. Professional athletes generally have lower heart rates and are infinitely better under pressure in sporting situations, but they still get nervous. Excited. Infuriated. Disheartened.

The current captains of Barcelona, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Piqué and Sergi Roberto, don't have the qualities that got Carles Puyol nicknamed El Capitá. None of the four seem to possess the unwavering confidence that Xavi exuded. Though they may not be those leaders, Messi is the best player to ever play for the club; leading by example has to mean something. Busquets is a club legend. Piqué absorbs a ton of media attention and is usually the spokesman for calming negative situations in the public eye. Roberto, meanwhile, is the player that fans and teammates alike look to as the epitome of hard work and dedication to the Barcelona cause.

There are more leaders at Barcelona besides the captains. Luis Suárez, Ivan Rakitic and Marc-André ter Stegen are all established veterans in the locker room. It's a locker room led by the stoic Valverde, more a guiding hand than a manager that will change the outcome of a match with a rah-rah speech at halftime. It's a radical idea, but maybe that experienced and harmonic Barcelona locker room needs a little something different. Dani Alves was always a presence that was silly off the pitch and arguably the greatest right-back ever at Sevilla and Barcelona on it.

Was Griezmann's video last season disrespectful? Of course; Francesc is spot on. Griezmann never should have come. It is possible to recognize that while also recognizing that the Frenchman is one of the top ten attacking players in the world, possibly top five. The ferocious Diego Simeone seemed to like him despite his antics because his work on the field often overshadows his sideways decisions off the field. Like many before him, we can expect that his public persona will quiet down now that he is at the Camp Nou. In the same regard, if his relationships with Ousmane Dembélé and Samuel Umtiti are an indication, he could help keep the locker room from becoming the melancholy cave that it apparently became a year ago.

Barcelona don't need a class clown; but a player that led his country to a World Cup with his youth exuberance and class on the field could be the piece of the puzzle that Barcelona are missing. Minutes should be tough to come by this season. Even without Neymar, the attacking options are deep. With the arrival of Frenkie de Jong and no major exodus, the midfield will be crowded. These are all good problems to have and this responsibility falls on Valverde; not on Griezmann for coming to the club.

Griezmann may never win over Culés off the field, but the former Atlético man could be exactly what Barcelona needs on the field and in the locker room behind closed doors. If Griezmann helps win the Champions League this season, no one will care. Maybe Atlético can take that to the bank.

Source: barcablog.com