Antoine Griezmann Targets Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Rules out Transfer

The standards set by Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo are far superior to the rest of La Liga’s players, but Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann has his sights on scaling similar heights to the illustrious pairing.

“I don’t know the number, but I want to score more than 25 goals this season, which was my total last season,” said the France international forward in an interview with Onda Cero’s Al Primer Toque (h/t Tom Conn of Inside Spanish Football). “I’m working hard to reach Messi and Cristiano’s level.”

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Griezmann took his game onto new heights after signing for Diego Simeone’s Atletico from Real Sociedad last summer.

In 2014-15, he bagged an impressive 22 goals in La Liga, leading the Rojiblancos’ attack with his blistering pace, intelligent link-up play and a bewitching left foot, per WhoScored.com. As we can see here, courtesy of Squawka, there's been no more prolific player in the Spanish top flight this year apart from the aforementioned duo, of course:

Reaching those kinds of levels—Ronaldo scored 48 league goals and Messi grabbed 43 in 2014-15, per WhoScored.com—will be tough for the Atletico man.

Never before has La Liga seen two attacking players perform with such consistency, and for Griezmann, there should be no shame in falling just short of their impeccable standards. After all, the likes of Neymar, Luis Suarez, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema all do, yet they are considered to be world-class players.

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There’s no denying Griezmann is fast assuming the role of Atletico’s talisman, though. He sets the tone for his team with his scintillating forward play, but he leads by example off the ball too, closing down, putting in tackles and forcing errors from opponents.

As noted by ESPN FC’s Dermot Corrigan, it was a big surprise a juggernaut outfit didn’t come and look to prise the 24-year-old away from the Vicente Calderon, even if Manchester United were linked to a late move for the player, per Mark Ogden of the Daily Telegraph:

However, the man himself has ruled out the prospect of a move, per Conn’s piece:

"

I’ve read the things people say speculating that I might’ve left this summer, but I’m really enjoying myself here and if the club wants me to stay, I’d love to do so. The Calderon is like my back garden. I’m with my mates, they support me and we always go out and give our all.

"

Indeed, Atletico seem to be spending big in attempt to match the ambitions of players such as Griezmann, and the forward has admitted this is a bolstered team with an eye on achieving big things, per Conn’s piece:

"

The club has made a massive effort in making several great signings. With the new players, we’ll do great things this year but we can’t forget that we must work hard in every game.

It’s normal for the fans to want us to be champions again. 10 new players arrived last season, it was difficult to replicate the success of the previous year but we had a good season finishing third. This season we’ll improve on that and achieve more.  We don’t feel pressured but we know the team we have. Everyone wants to win titles but first we need to think about winning game by game.

"

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Griezmann will be critical to any success Atletico have, and while he could have the season of his life and still not match the goalscoring exploits of Messi and Ronaldo, there are areas in which he can improve to help the team.

While he’s an emphatic finisher, the forward’s decision-making can be a little erratic at times, and there were occasions last season when Griezmann would shoot instead of playing the ball to a team-mate in a better position. But as we can see, per WhoScored.com, he’s making refinements already:

Playing alongside better players will be a massive help too. Jackson Martinez is a rumbustious, powerful partner at the point of the attack, and as the Colombian gets acquainted with La Liga, he’ll facilitate a lot more space for Griezmann. Luciano Vietto’s addition will also give Atletico another attacking dimension.

Griezmann seems to be relishing the talismanic role that’s been thrust upon him at the Calderon, and it’s refreshing to hear players be so unashamed with their ambitions. And while he may never be quite as prolific as Messi or Ronaldo, the Frenchman can make himself just as important a player for his side with a little more fine-tuning.