Lucas Hernandez Claims That Antoine Griezmann Deserves Ballon D'Or After Stunning Year
Lucas Hernandez believes that Antoine Griezmann deserves to win the Ballon D'Or for his achievements with club and country in 2018.
Griezmann and Hernandez were part of the Atletico Madrid team that won the Europa League in May, and the French squad that lifted the World Cup in July.
Griezmann scored twice in the Europa League final, once in the World Cup final, and four times at the World Cup in total. He won the Silver Boot and the Bronze Ball at the World Cup, and now Hernandez believes that his countryman deserves another personal accolade.
"After everything he has done this season, Griezmann is for me the number one candidate for the Ballon d'Or," Hernandez told RMC, quoted by Mundo Deportivo.
Griezmann finished fourth in the rankings for the UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award, the winner of which is yet to be confirmed. The final three are Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah.
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Ronaldo will be the big favourite to win the Ballon d'Or at the end of the year, despite failing to score in the Champions League final and exiting the World Cup at the first knockout stage.
He and Lionel Messi have shared the award for the last decade, each of them winning it on five occasions. The last player other than those two to win it was Kaka in 2007.
However, there is one good omen for Griezmann. The last time a Frenchman won the Ballon d'Or was also the last time France won the World Cup. Zinedine Zidane won the award after scoring twice in the 1998 final.
