Ramos laughs off Griezmann's Ballon d'Or claims

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos on Tuesday brushed aside Antoine Griezmann's Ballon d'Or claims, also making light of the Atletico Madrid forward's statement of comparing himself to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

"Ignorance makes you very bold," Ramos was quoted by ESPNFC ahead of Real Madrid's Champions League opener against Roma.

"When I hear this guy talk, I think of the likes of Totti, Buffon, Maldini, Raul, Xavi, Iniesta, Iker, they have won a lot of titles at home and none of them won a Ballon d'Or.

"Everyone's free to give their opinion. He needs to be advised by (Diego Simeone), (Diego) Godin, Koke and players like this and to get back to the values that suit them."

Meanwhile Real will begin their title defence without star Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo who left for Juventus in the summer while Zinedine Zidane, mastermind of those three triumphs, stepped down.

"He marked a marvellous period for Real Madrid and he shattered practically all of the records here, but that's in the past," Ramos said.

"We can't live on what Cristiano did in the past. The hole he left is very big but it's covered by others players with a lot of ambition and desire and we have a big squad to compete. We wish him the best, as always.

"He gave us a lot and took very little away. He was very direct, had lots of goals in him and we played more on the counter. Now, we have to adapt to another style. We have more possession and another way to hurt our opponents and that is what we have to exploit."

Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui refused to confirm his first choice goalkeeper for the Champions League, after summer signing Thibaut Courtois' arrival from Chelsea.

--IANS

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