Thierry Henry names star who struggled at Barcelona as ‘the most underrated player in existence’

Thierry Henry believes one of his fellow Frenchmen does not get the full credit he deserves.

Henry, a France and Premier League legend, is set to coach his country’s men’s football side at the Paris Olympics this summer and he’s hoping to pull out all the stops to secure a gold medal.

Le Parisien report that he wants to call up Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann to his squad that will mostly feature players aged 23 or younger.

And it’s Griezmann who he believes deserves more plaudits given his efforts over the past decade for club and country.

Speaking to Le Parisien, he said: “We must not forget Griezmann, who reminds us that hard work is a talent. Griezmann is by far the most underrated player in existence.

“We often talk about Kylian, so much so that I am even in favour of abusing him. But Griezmann… look at his passes and his goals.”

Henry added: “Tell me who in history could play all four offensive positions like him? There aren’t many. Grizou is one of them.”

Griezmann is best known for his efforts with Atletico Madrid, who he first joined in 2014 before returning in 2021 having struggled to make the same kind of impact at Barcelona.

The 32-year-old became their all-time top scorer in January and now sits on 176 goals in 379 appearances for them in all competitions.

He has played on both wings during his career but most of his success in front of goal has come through the middle of the attack.

Griezmann’s 127 caps for France is the fourth highest in the country’s history, with only Hugo Lloris, Lilian Thuram and Giroud having more.

However, his tally won’t increase in the current international break as a result of an ankle injury.

This means his world record run of playing 84 consecutive games for his country, which commenced in 2017, will come to an end.

Griezmann will miss friendlies against Germany and Chile but will surely play a starring role at Euro 2024 this summer.