ORLANDO, Fla. – Some serious star power is coming to Orlando this summer as World Cup winner Antoine Griezmann will join Orlando City, the club announced Tuesday.
Griezmann, a French striker, won the 2018 World Cup with France and scored in the final. He has signed a contract beginning July 2026 through the 2027-28 season with an option to extend for 2028-29.
Griezmann, 35, will finish the season at his current club, Altético Madrid in Spain’s La Liga, before coming to the MLS. The deal is dependent on Griezmann passing a medical, receipt of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC) and P-1 visa. He will be listed as a “Designated Player,” along with Martin Ojeda and Marco Pašalić. This means his salary will be higher compared to other players.
“I am very excited to begin this next chapter of my career with Orlando City,” said Griezmann via the club’s announcement. “From my first conversations with [Orlando City], 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.”
With the French national team, Griezmann scored 44 career goals and had 38 assists in 137 caps and helped lead his country to the 2018 World Cup title and runner-up finish in 2022. He has the fourth-most goals in French national team history and was named “Man of the Match” in the 2018 World Cup final. Griezmann has since retired from international duty.
At the club level, Griezmann scored 298 goals and had 132 assists in 792 appearances with teams Atlético Madrid, FC Barcelona, and Real Sociedad. He is the all-time leading scorer at Atlético Madrid with 211 goals across all competitions.
Griezmann won the 2017-18 UEFA Europa League, the 2018 UEFA Super Cup, and the 2014 Spanish Supercopa with Atlético Madrid. With Barcelona, he won the 2020-21 Copa del Rey. Griezmann was the La Liga Player of the Year in 2015-16 and placed third in the Ballon d’Or voting in 2016 and 2018, the award for the world’s best men’s soccer player.
“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 SC Owner & Chairman. “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. 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.”
Orlando City is currently 1-4-0 through the first five games of the season. Following the 2026 World Cup this summer, Orlando City will play July 22 at San Jose and at home July 25 versus Nashville.