Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were snubbed by Antoine Griezmann in his La Liga GOAT pick

Lionel Messi And Christiano Ronaldo played in unforgettable battles for almost ten years The Leaguewhile also setting all kinds of records. Antoine Griezmann played in the same era as both, but he still leaned towards another legend as the greatest player in the history of the Spanish league.

In an interview shared by ESPN FC on X, Griezmann took part in a quick Q&A asking for his opinions on various topics. One of the questions asked him to choose the best player in La Liga history, and after a laugh he went along Johan Cruyff.

The Dutch legend certainly deserved a place in that debate. He played for five seasons Barcelona between 1973 and 1978, scoring 48 goals in 143 games and winning the league title in 1974. Later, as manager, Cruyff had an even longer run with the Blaugrana, working there from 1988 to 1996 and winning four La Liga trophies.

However, other icons who achieved even more impressive feats were left out of Griezmann’s choice. In reality, Lionel Messi is the top scorer of all time The League with 474 goals, and he also holds the record for the most national titles (13), all with Barcelona.

When it comes to matches played, Messi ranks 12th in La Liga history with 520. The first place is shared by Joaquin And Andoni Zubizarretaboth with 622 games. Antoine Griezmann is fifth on that list with 546 games and is the highest among active players in the Spanish league.

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Griezmann chooses his GOAT

In the same interview, Griezmann also answered specific questions about his favorite players. He chose Didier Drogba as the best finisher, Andres Iniesta as the best playmaker, and Marcel Desailly as the best defender. Gianluigi Buffon is, according to the Atletico Madrid attacker, the greatest goalkeeper of all time.

Griezmann then selected Ronaldinho as the best dribbler and his compatriot Zinedine Zidane as the player with the most charisma. Finally, he was faced with the biggest question of all: who is the greatest footballer of all time? There, Griezmann gave an expected answer: he chose Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldoavoiding choosing one over the other.

Griezmann knows Messi and Ronaldo well

Throughout his extensive professional career, Antoine Griezmann has faced the two players he considers the best of all time numerous times. He played 28 matches against Lionel Messi at club and international level, of which the Argentine forward won seventeen, six ended in a draw and five won by Griezmann. In those encounters, Messi produced 28 goals, while the French star had twelve.

Griezmann has played against Cristiano Ronaldo even more often. In total they met 34 times, including several head-to-head matches France And Portugalwith a very balanced record: 13 wins for CR7, 12 for Antoine and nine draws. The big difference is in the individual production: Ronaldo scored 25 goals in those games, while Griezmann scored only six.