So yes, he is sitting at their table but rather at the end. Antoine Griezmann has joined Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo among the top scorers for major European clubs. But if the former Barcelona and Madrilenians appear in first and third place in our ranking, Antoine Griezmann is 15th out of 16. Only Alfred Pessler, best gunner in Dortmund’s history, has scored less than Grizou (123 against 174) . But the place is easily explained. He joined a caste of distinguished scorers and outstanding finishers. Selfish people, for the most part, who got up every morning for one good reason: to score. An obsession that they have elevated to the rank of art.
Griezmann doesn’t think about it every day while shaving. On the contrary, he is the incarnation of the Atlético collective but also the emanation of Cholismo, a sort of self-sacrifice applied to a football of sacrifice and sometimes restrictive. In this list studded with the greatest names in the history of football, the world champion is the only one to have fulfilled the missions of a 9, a 10 and an 8. Even if he is not the only hybrid player of the lot. Three cases, apart from his own, attract particular attention.
“The Spanish press also believes that Griezmann’s ranking is not fair”
Lampard, the other case apart
That of Alessandro Del Piero, Juve’s formidable finisher, who shares with Griezmann a taste for the collective. A profile that suits Lionel Messi perfectly, who has piled up both goals and decisive passes as the mastermind at the head of one of the greatest collectives of hope. But neither Del Piero nor Messi shared Griezmann’s qualities in recovery and his sense of sacrifice. As such, only one man among the best scorers of the big clubs in Europe combines, like the Colchonero, the qualities of a defensive, offensive midfielder and a scorer: Frank Lampard.
Frank Lampard is arguably Chelsea’s greatest ever player
Credit: Eurosport
The other hybrid player in this “top 16” is him. If he scored more often for Chelsea than Griezmann with Atlético, his ratio is significantly less favorable (0.3 goals/match compared to 0.47 for the Frenchman). But the Englishman, a specialist in penalties and free kicks, played much further from the opposing goal. In short, Griezmann is a special case. A UFO which proves that having concern for others and the desire to help the team is not antithetical to the idea of scoring and scoring again. Basically, he is a bit alone at his table.
The ranking of the top scorers of some European clubs
- Barcelona: Lionel Messi (672 goals in 778 matches)
- Bayern Munich: Gerd Mülller (570 goals in 605 matches)
- Real Madrid: Cristiano Ronaldo (450 goals in 438 matches)
- Liverpool: Ian Rush (346 goals in 660 matches)
- Juventus Turin: Alessandro Del Piero (289 goals in 705 matches)
- Inter Milan: Giuseppe Meazza (284 goals in 408 matches)
- Manchester City: Sergio Aguero (260 goals in 390 matches)
- Manchester United: Wayne Rooney (253 goals in 559 matches)
- PSG: Kylian Mbappé (237 goals in 288 matches)
- Arsenal: Thierry Henry (228 goals in 377 matches)
- OL: Fleury Di Nallo (222 goals in 495 matches)
- AC Milan: Gunnar Nordahl (221 goals in 268 matches)
- Chelsea: Frank Lampard (211 goals in 648 matches) – 0.3
- OM: Gunnar Anderson (194 in 250 matches)
- Atlético Madrid: Antoine Griezmann (174 goals in 368 matches)
- Dortmund: Alfred Preissler (123 goals in 211 matches)