Antoine Griezmann: Rubbing Shoulders With the Best

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated world football over the last eight years. Griezmann, who has had a stellar 2016, banging in 32 goals for Atletico Madrid and finishing as the TOP SCORER in EURO 2016, has done just about enough to stand up and be counted alongside them.

Antoine Griezmann could be the gust (a whiff is too mild) of fresh air that world football so badly needs. The France forward has made it to the three-man Ballon d’Or shortlist for the first time. Don’t get me wrong, as boring as they’ve made it in sharing the award between them for the last eight years, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have done everything to deserve the accolade. But perhaps it’s time for us to get a new hero and I believe Griezmann has done just about enough to stand up and be counted.

THE DIMINUTIVE FRENCHMAN has had a stellar 2016, banging in 32 goals for Atletico Madrid, who finished third in the league and made it to the final of the Champions League. He then went on to finish as the top-scorer at EURO 2016, where France finished runner-up. Call it fate or simply poor luck that he’s up against a player who went home with the winner’s medal in both those finals where Griezmann finished second. Then there’s Messi, who has some sort of ownership of the award. The Argentinean scored 41 goals as Barcelona won the League and Cup double.