Spanish reporter uses Google translate after French player Antoine Griezmann refuses to answer transfer questions in a foreign language

The reporter asked Atletico Madrid striker Atoine Griezmann about transfer rumours
Getty Images
Alexandra Richards13 June 2018

An enterprising Spanish reporter turned to Google translate when interviewing a footballer who refused to answer questions in any language other than French.

Footballer Antoine Griezmann, who plays for Atletico Madrid, appeared at a media conference on Tuesday amid speculation that he could be being transferred to another club.

In order to avoid being asked about transfer rumours he refused to answer questions in any language other than French.

But savvy Spanish journalist Pedro Morata of radio network Cadena SER concocted a plan to overcome the language barrier.

When it came to his turn to speak he used Google to translate his question from Spanish to French.

He asked the footballer whether he planned to stay at his current team Atletico Madrid or not. Footage showed the reporter smirking as played the translation into the microphone.

Mr Griezmann also appeared to be amused and was caught grinning at the journalist after the question was asked.

However, his press officer, Philippe Tournon, did not see the funny side and told the footballer not to answer the question.

The reporter has received widespread praise with many people describing his quick-thinking as “smart.”

Scot Bennett wrote: “You’ve got to admire the guy.”

Another person described the journalist as “resourceful and creative.”

During the press conference Mr Griezmann said he has made a decision about whether or not he will stay with his current club.

“I have already made a decision about my future. But I'm not going to speak about it today,” he said.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in