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Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann has admitted that he's following the exploits of the "incredible" Lionel Messi at Inter Miami with France's forward adding that he still hopes to end his career playing in Major League Soccer (MLS).

Messi has so far scored in every game he has played for his new club Inter Miami with nine goals in six appearances, including in a 4-1 win at Philadelphia Union on Tuesday to reach the Leagues Cup final.

Griezmann spent a short stint with Messi at Barcelona and is a huge admirer of U.S. sports and culture and is seen revealing his wish to play there in the future time and time again.

"Yes, I'm following [Messi]," Griezmann told a virtual press conference organized by LaLiga and ESPN to highlight the start of the new LaLiga season. "Leo is the best in history. He's filling stadiums, he's scoring a lot of goals and he's winning games.

 

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"He's incredible and I think it's the best thing MLS have done to bring in Leo, in terms of marketing and in terms of football."

Griezmann looks to have found his rhythm back with Atletico as he was one of Laliga's best players last season with 15 goals and 16 assists to his name as he helped his team finish third behind Barcelona and Real Madrid.

The 2018 World Cup winner said he still hopes to "make history" at Atletico but is clear about then wanting to try his luck in the U.S.

"I've always said it," Griezmann said. "My target is to end up there, with everything that I like about American sports, playing in MLS and enjoying myself, being able to win things and be at my best level.

"First I want to make history here and win trophies at Atleti. After that, we'll see... I think the arrival of Leo [Messi], 'Busi' [Sergio Busquets], and Jordi [Alba] is good for the league. That and signing younger players, especially from South America, it's the best thing the league can do."

Griezmann further mentioned empathizing with teammate Joao Felix who was whistled by Atletico fans before their 3-1 win over Granada in the first game of the new Laliga campaign on Monday.

Felix had to face outrage from fans after he publicly stated that he would like to join Barcelona.

 

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"I experienced it [when he left for Barca in 2019]," he said. "I hurt the club. The best thing I've done was keep quiet, work hard, and try to get back into the plans of the boss [Diego Simeone] and the club. That's all I can say.

"Let's hope it can be sorted out for everyone, for the club, for João, and for us in the dressing room, and we can move forward. It can't be easy for him and you can see that."