Antoine Griezmann has dismissed the perception that he is Franck Ribery's obvious successor, arguing that he is not on the same level as his fellow Frenchman.
With Ribery having announced his retirement from international football, many pundits feel that Atletico Madrid ace Griezmann has the ability to fill the void left in the Bleus squad - just as he attempted to do at Brazil 2014 this summer.
However, Griezmann does not want to be considered the heir to Ribery's throne as the king of French football and insists that he does not feel under any pressure to emulate the Bayern Munich star's achievements with the national team.
"I’m not the successor to Ribery," the Atletico Madrid ace told L'Equipe. "I’m not on his level.
"I don’t feel pressure to be, either from the press or on the pitch."
Griezmann admitted that he receives a lot of advice and guidance from France team-mate Karim Benzema but knows full well that by the time Euro 2016 comes around - at which point he will be 25 - he will need to be capable of looking after himself.
“You can say I need Benzema to protect me at the moment but we’ll see about that in 2016," he declared.
"There will no longer be 'Antoine the protege', only 'Antoine Griezmann'.”
Griezmann scored 20 times in all competitions for Real Sociedad last season, with his fine form not only earning him a place in France's World Cup squad but also a move to Atletico.
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