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Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann

Ribery has a very high bar for what 'world class' is, and Griezmann is well short of it

You won’t get the stamp of approval from Big Franck until you’ve proven yourself over a decade.

BAYERN MUNICH WINGER Franck Ribery feels Antoine Griezmann needs to perform at the highest level over a much longer period of time before he can be described as a world-class player.

Griezmann has developed into one of the game’s brightest talents since joining Atletico Madrid in 2014 and is among the favourites to win the Ballon d’Or following an impressive Euro 2016 campaign with France.

Nevertheless, Ribery feels his compatriot still has a lot of work to do before he can ranked among the very best.

“Griezmann did a great job last season,” Ribery told Sport Bild.

“But you have to consistently show performances like that if you want to be world class. People are so quick to say someone is a fantastic player and deserves to win the Ballon d’Or after just one good year. I disagree with that.

For me, you have to prove yourself over 10, 12 or 15 years if you want to be among the best. Do that and then I will congratulate you.

“I might have been out for nine months or so due to injury, but I have almost always been playing at the highest level over the past 10 years or so.”

It sounds like Ribery heard Roy Keane’s opinion that Theo Walcoot needs to string eight or nine months of form together, and then upped the benchmark from a season to a full bloody career.

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