Pepe, Bale should have been Euro 2016 MVP not Griezmann, says Leboeuf

Former France international Frank Leboeuf has criticised UEFA’s decision to name Antoine Griezmann player of the tournament at Euro 2016 and feels Portugal defender Pepe deserved the award more than the Atletico Madrid forward.

Griezmann made the difference for France in the knockout stages with goals in the wins over Republic of Ireland, Iceland and Germany, but was unable to find the net in the final against Portugal as the hosts were beaten in extra time.

UEFA picked the 25-year-old as the star of the tournament following his sublime performances, yet Leboeuf feels the attacker was not consistent enough to take the individual award home.

“I like Griezmann a lot, but he was not the player of the tournament. I do not agree with this choice,” Leboeuf told RMC.

“We have to be critical. We only saw him from the quarter-finals on. He got two chances in the final, but he did not take them. We did not see too much of him otherwise.

“But UEFA has always worked like this. They always give man of the match to the player who scored, too.

“For me, there was someone like Pepe, you had Gareth Bale who led Wales the way. There were a number of players who showed a lot of quality.

“Pepe  was in great form right from the start until the very end. Griezmann on the other hand was dropped for the second game…”