Antoine Griezmann insists that he doesn’t really hate Cristiano Ronaldo and actually has a lot of respect for his Real Madrid rival despite losing in two major finals to him over the summer.
Griezmann reached the Champions League final with Atletico Madrid and the Euro 2016 final with France but both times lost out to Ronaldo as Real and Portugal claimed the respective championships.
Ronaldo recently revealed Griezmann had told the 31-year-old “he hated him” when they met in Miami during the close season, but the France forward has made it clear he was only joking, insisting he gets along well with the forward.
Griezmann indicated that he and Ronaldo used to be neighbours and that he has respect for his rival for his accomplishments with Real Madrid.
And the Frenchman believes that if he was still a youngster he would actually be a huge fan of the Portuguese icon.
“Ronaldo used to be my neighbour and he passed my house every day. We always greeted each other. But I moved house last year. I do not live far away now, but you do not meet as regularly,” Griezmann told L’Equipe.
“But we did meet this summer in Miami. I was on holiday with my partner and we met Cristiano in a restaurant. It was a huge coincidence. I went up to him to congratulate him for Portugal’s Euro 2016 win and Madrid’s Champions League victory.
“I joked that I hated him, because I was still suffering after the Euro 2016 final. But I obviously do not feel differently about him because he beat me in two major finals and scored a hat-trick at the weekend. I have a lot of respect for him.
“If I was still a young kid, I would probably be a fan of him, just like I would be a fan of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Paul Pogba.”
COMMENTS