Atletico Madrid midfielder Antoine Griezmann thinks he is still developing and has not reached the level of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi yet. The 25-year-old is one of the favorites to win this year’s Ballon d’Or award after an exceptional performance for both his country and the national team.
The French forward was part of the Champions League runners-up Atletico Madrid team this year and also featured in the Euro 2016 runners-up France squad.
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The 25-year-old Frenchman scored 36 goals for Atletico Madrid in the La Liga last year and also was the highest goal scorer at the Euro 2016 earlier this year. After such performances, the former Real Sociedad footballer’s comparison with the football greats of this generation like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi started.
However, despite being compared with the two best footballers of this generation, Griezmann thinks he needs to win more trophies in order to be considered being on the same level with the Real Madrid and Barcelona attackers.
"I think I still have more to do to be their equal, starting with winning titles," Griezmann told L’Equipe. He also revealed that he believes the reason of Ronaldo and Messi’s career success is solely based on their trophy count, "They've won them and they keep winning them.”
The Atletico Madrid footballer also said that he wants to reach the level of Ronaldo and Messi, “But as I've said in the past, I want to sit at their table. And I think I'm getting there, bit by bit. I hope to stay there as long as possible.”
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Griezmann was asked if the La Liga referees notice him on the pitch more than the time when he joined the Madrid-based club back in 2014 he replied, "The referees, even more!Now they call me 'Griezmann', whereas before they didn't know who I was. They had to look at the name on the back of my shirt,” he further added.
Griezmann was vocal about Atletico’s poor start in the La Liga campaign this season and claimed the Madrid-based club might get relegated at the end of the ongoing season if they did not improve their performances. However, after the loss against newly promoted side Leganes, Atletico Madrid have won six matches and drew against Catalonian giants Barcelona in the last seven games.
Griezmann has scored six goals in eight appearances for Atletico Madrid in the ongoing season.
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