Antoine Griezmann Claims He Doesn't Care About Ballon d'Or as France Prepare for World Cup Final

As Antoine Griezmann prepares for what will surely be one of the defining matches of his career, he has claimed he doesn't care about Ballon d'Or success and is purely focussed on lifting the World Cup trophy with France on Sunday night.

The Frenchman who plays for Atletico Madrid, is getting ready for the final against Croatia, and has enjoyed an impressive campaign, scoring three goals for his country on the way to the final.

Griezmann, who committed himself to Atletico Madrid despite interest from Barcelona, has lifted many of the sport's top honours but is apparently unconcerned about the Ballon d'Or.

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He said, as quoted by Goal: "It's a chance to win the World Cup, not the Ballon d'Or.

"I don't care if I win the Ballon d'Or or not - I'd give everything to be a world champion."

Griezmann also played down the importance of individuals in the France team and praise the side's collective spirit.

He added: "Maybe if I was the top scorer in the competition, we would have lost. I thought that by scoring few goals we could win.

"I understand the game...We're all better together, helping each other in our efforts to play as a team."

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France were successful in negotiating a group containing Denmark, Peru and Australia, before beating Argentina, Uruguay and Belgium in the knockouts.

Griezmann and his teammates are now favourites to beat Croatia - debutants at this stage of a World Cup - at the Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday.