Antoine Griezmann calls MLS move a "dream come true" after joining Orlando City | OneFootball

After months of negotiations, "The Little Prince," Antoine Griezmann, has finally joined Orlando City, bringing with him a wealth of experience from an illustrious European career, most notably his standout years with Atlético de Madrid.

With the World Cup currently underway, MLS has paused the regular season. This has allowed the French forward valuable time to rest and prepare before joining The Lions for training earlier this week.

During a recent press conference, Antoine Griezmann discussed why he chose the MLS as the next stop of his professional career.

Antoine Griezmann: “It’s a dream come true.”

The first thing Griezmann said during his official presentation as a new player of Orlando City was: “Here I am, very eager, and my goal is to win a trophy and make the whole city happy.”

With almost a month in the US, balancing life and enjoying the World Cup, the former Atletico Madrid player started training at the Lions' facilities and even scored a goal in their friendly match this week.

During his first week with the club, Griezmann praised the quality of his new teammates, thanking them for the warm welcome and saying they made him feel as if he had been part of the team for several months.

“The group is fantastic. Players with a lot of quality, with a lot of heart, and they’ve welcomed me incredibly, and I already feel at home. It feels like I’ve been here for months in the locker room, and that’s thanks to them.”

Even though everything is excitement and celebration right now, a signing of this magnitude is never easy. Antoine Griezmann was still more than capable of competing at the highest level in Europe, but instead chose to make the move to the United States.

According to the French forward, much of the credit belongs to Orlando City General Manager Ricardo Moreira, who traveled to Madrid multiple times to meet with Griezmann and discuss the possibility of bringing him to the Lions.

“Ricardo’s visit to Madrid, eight or nine hours of traveling, just knowing that for me was incredible. It was a nice moment when I invited him only to coffee and water. A couple of hours went by, and it went incredibly well. We talked for hours, and by the end of it, I knew everything about the team, the club, and its culture.”

The same Moreira highlighted this and added:

“A signing like this doesn’t happen by chance. It happened with a couple of trips to Madrid. Antoine’s family opened the doors of their house to me, and I got to live a little with the Griezmann family there in Madrid. I think the human connection was right there, and from that moment on, I was certain that at some point we were going to get him signed.”

But enough about the buildup to the signing. It is time to fully dive into what it means for Griezmann to fulfill a dream with Orlando City.

“Since I was 18 years old, my dream was to come to Major League Soccer. It’s incredible how we've been received by everyone, and I hope I can return that love to everyone.”

With the arrival of the 2018 World Cup champion, Orlando City has dramatically strengthened its attacking firepower.

The Lions currently sit in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, but with Griezmann's arrival, they hope to climb into the playoff spots and make a strong push during the second half of the regular season.