Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann has insisted that he is already on the same level as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as he eyes the Ballon d'Or.
Griezmann was left off the three-man shortlist for FIFA's 'The Best' award, but the Frenchman has said that he should be in the running when it comes to landing the Ballon d'Or, having helped his country win the 2018 World Cup.
Ronaldo, now with Juventus, and Barcelona's Messi have shared the Ballon d'Or for the last 10 years, although Griezmann is confident that he will be in with a shout this time around.
"I think the Ballon d'Or has more prestige and history," he told AS. "There's three months left to give everything. It is clear that I am a different player than Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar or [Kylian] Mbappe. I'm at the top but I can improve.
"I seek to be as complete as possible. I'm not going to score 50 goals, but I'm looking to help offensively and work for the team.
"I think I already sit where Messi and Cristiano are. And I know other players are going to come for sure. I want to improve, I want to win and I want to continue like this, playing in this way."
Griezmann has scored over 100 goals for Atletico since his arrival from Real Sociedad in the summer of 2014.
Matt Law
