Friends believe Antoine Griezmann's problems at Barcelona are due to him being intimidated by Lionel Messi.

Griezmann has battled for consistency in his first season with Barca amid claims he doesn't see eye-to-eye with his captain.

However, friends say claims of tension between the pair are wrong and instead it's more about Greizmann being starstruck.

One source told France Football: "You put Antoine in front of (David) Beckham, (Cristiano) Ronaldo or Messi, and you have a kid.

"He has enormous admiration for them. He does not know how to speak with Leo, he is very impressed. It makes him weird. He can laugh with him during a meal and the next day, not know how to talk to him about football on the field.

"But he is 29 years old, is world champion and must know how to assert himself. He's working on it."