Antoine Griezmann has confirmed he has ‘great respect’ for Cristiano Ronaldo after jokingly saying he hated the Real Madrid forward.
The 25-year-old lost out in both the Champions League and European Championships final to the Portuguese superstar and he revealed how they came across each other by chance in a restaurant in Miami following on from the final in Paris.
"We came across Cristiano and his friends in the same restaurant," he told L’Equipe.
"It was really by chance. I went to say hello and congratulate him for Portugal's win at the Euros and the Champions League. We made fun of each other.
"I just joked like that because I needed time to get over the defeat in the final. But, honestly, it's not because he beat me in two important competitions and that he scored a hat trick last weekend against us that my opinion will change. I have great respect for Ronaldo."
Both players are in the running for the 2016 Ballon d’Or award, with both tipped to be in the top three players for the year.