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Diego Simeone: 'Antoine Griezmann, Jan Oblak deserve FIFA awards'

Simeone hits out at FIFA award nominees
© Reuters
Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone insists that Antoine Griezmann and Jan Oblak should have been included in the FIFA award finalists.

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has claimed that Antoine Griezmann and Jan Oblak should have been included in the final three of the FIFA Best Men's Player and FIFA Best Goalkeeper awards later this month.

Both players helped Atletico to the Europa League title last season, while Griezmann also won the World Cup with France, but the forward missed out on a place in the top three to Cristiano Ronaldo, Mohamed Salah and Luka Modric.

Oblak, meanwhile, kept 29 clean sheets in just 49 outings in 2017-18, but Hugo Lloris, Kasper Schmeichel and Thibaut Courtois have been selected as the finalists for the goalkeeper's award.

"Jan Oblak? He is the world's best goalkeeper and to say he is not in the top three is ridiculous, it strips these awards of credibility," Simeone told Cadena Cope.

"Would Thibaut Courtois get in our team now? Oblak is better. Griezmann without doubt has been the best player in the world within the last year, there is no doubt about this."

The only previous winner of the goalkeeper's award was Gianluigi Buffon for Juventus last season.

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Barney Corkhill
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Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone directs his team in training ahead of the 2018 Europa League final
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