Atletico Madrid Star Antoine Griezmann Wins French Player of the Year Award

18 December 2016

It has been a year of bitter disappointment for Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann, but he has finally gotten his hands on some silverware, having been named the French Player of the Year by France Football.

Griezmann played in both the Champions League and Euro 16 finals, but came up just short, losing out to Real Madrid and Portugal. Instead, Cristiano Ronaldo got to collect both honours, and as a result won his fourth Ballon d'Or.

The Atletico man placed third after second-placed Lionel Messi, but would have been in pole position to win if he'd won the European trophies. However, his efforts haven't gone unnoticed, and he has now unseated Blaise Matuidi as France's best.

The 25-year-old scored 36 goals in 66 appearances for club and country in 2016, but it is a shame he couldn't further validate his worth with a trophy.

The form he showed during last season has tailed off a bit. He has scored six times in 15 appearances inLa Liga for the Rojiblancos, who sit far off the top in sixth place in the Spanish top flight, nine points behind Real Madrid.

He can feel proud of his latest achievement, however, especially as it happens to be his first. It is also a very prestigious award, previously held by greats such as Thierry Henry, who won it on five occasions, Karim Benzema, Zinedine Zidane and Michel Platini.