Griezmann Opens Up on the Pain of Losing France’s Captaincy to Kylian Mbappe

• Antoine Griezmann says he had a tough time accepting Kylian Mbappe was chosen ahead of him as France’s captain
• France head coach Didier Deschamps picked the PSG star as captain after the retirement of Hugo Lloris
• Griezmann has scored 43 goals and provided 36 assists in 120 appearances for France

Antoine Griezmann has finally opened up on the captaincy row that rocked the France national team after he was neglected for the post by manager Didier Deschamps.

24-year-old Kylian Mbappe was picked ahead of Griezmann for the post despite the Atletico Madrid forward being the preferred candidate with his wealth of experience.

According to Sportskeeda, Griezmann admitted that it was a tough decision to accept but understood Deschamps' reasoning behind it.

“It was hard to take and tough. I’m 32, and although I still have the legs, I know I’m reaching the end [of my career]. I had a hard time stomaching it for one or two days."

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Griezmann was France’s golden boy during the 2018 FIFA World Cup as he played a pivotal role when Les Blues won the tournament, scoring four goals and four assists.

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Meanwhile, Antoine Griezmann has revealed he is nursing the ambition of following Lionel Messi to the United States after the Argentina superstar joined Inter Miami, Goal reports.

Messi, who played for 17 seasons with Barcelona and spent two years at Paris Saint-Germain, revealed he will be leaving Europe for the MLS this summer.

Griezmann, who still plays for Atletico Madrid in Spain, revealed he still wants to stay in Europe for now but admitted the MLS is a league that appeals to him.

Griezmann snubbed as France captain

Earlier, Sports Brief reported Kylian Mbappe is set to become one of the youngest national team captains after being selected as the preferred candidate to take over from retired goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris.

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France manager, Didier Deschamps has reportedly selected the 24-year-old ahead of fellow contender and Atletico Madrid forward, Antoine Griezmann, who was also in line for the captaincy.

Deschamps revealed he would hold further discussions with the Paris Saint-Germain star about the France captaincy, with the decisions expected to be officially announced on March 23.