France coach Didier Deschamps has not ruled out the possibility of Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann winning the Ballon d’Or award on Monday night.
Media reports in Spain suggest Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has already won the award – which he and Barcelona counterpart Lionel Messi have shared for the past eight years – after voting closed in November, but the 48-year-old believes the former Real Sociedad striker has a chance.
"Of course he has a chance," Deschamps told L'Equipe.
"But wait, Antoine is only 25. Ronaldo and Messi are around 30. Antoine is coming, he is changing that hierarchy a bit.
"The two others are very consistent. He has performed really well over the last two years. It's already a great personal and collective success for him to be at that level."
Griezmann was a central figure for club and country as he reached the final of both the Champions League and European Championships this summer, but he missed out to Ronaldo’s sides on both occasions.
