Antoine Griezmann snubs Cristiano Ronaldo but includes Lionel Messi in list as he names his 5 greatest footballers of all time

Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann has ignored Cristiano Ronaldo and included Lionel Messi in the list of his five greatest footballers ever. The French star made sure to pick his former teammate alongside several other legends of the game when he revealed his list.

Griezmann was a guest on the channel of YouTuber Ibai Llanos, and he was asked to list out his five best footballers of all time. The 2018 FIFA World Cup champion put England icon David Beckham in fifth place and Johan Cruyff in fourth. He then named Diego Maradona in third place, Lionel Messi in second, and Zinedine Zidane at the top of the list.

A former Barcelona player, Griezmann revealed his connection to the Spanish giants by naming Maradona and Cruyff, two players who lit up the Nou Camp, among his picks. He also showed his French affiliation with his choice of Zidane, a player he grew up watching for Les Bleus.

Among the players on the list, Messi was the only one who played in the same era as Antoine Griezmann. The pair were teammates at Barcelona between 2019 and 2021, after the Frenchman moved to Catalunya from Atletico Madrid for around €120 million.

Griezmann played against Cristiano Ronaldo for many years in Spain, first with Real Sociedad, and then with Atletico Madrid. The 34-year-old was part of the French national team that lost the European Championship final to Ronaldo's Portugal in 2016, as well.

Former Manchester United star delivers verdict on if Lamine Yamal can reach Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi levels

Former Manchester United forward Nani has spoken glowingly of Barcelona phenom Lamine Yamal after his impressive 2025 saw him finish second in the Ballon d'Or rankings. The 18-year-old helped his club to win the domestic treble in Spain and was duly rewarded with the Kopa Trophy as the world's best U-21 player.

Nani spoke at the 2025 Portugal Football Summit, addressing a question of whether Yamal can reach Cristiano Ronaldo's and Lionel Messi's achievements. He pointed out that it would be putting too much pressure on the teenager to set such an impossible bar for him, and pleaded for patience.

"I don't think we can talk about it. We are destroying what we want him to reach. We don't want to talk about it so he can reach it. The bad thing about human beings is that they talk until they reach it. We can't compete with Ronaldo or Messi. Messi and Ronaldo have already done their thing and they are doing very well. We are going to do this, whether less or more, we are going to applaud them because these are moments. We can't compare things", he said (via GIVEMESPORT).

Lamine Yamal made his senior debut for Barcelona aged 15 and became a starter for club and country aged just 16, significantly younger than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi at the same stage of their careers. The Spain international was beaten to this year's Ballon d'Or by Ousmane Dembele, but is expected to receive the award in his career.

Edited by Sulayman Salahudeen