Star 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel recently had some fun with French soccer icon Antoine Griezmann of La Liga club Atlético Madrid.
Hilariously, Griezmann completely was out of his element when facing Samuel in American football in a video shared by the NFL on Monday.
Spoiler alert: Griezmann acted as a cornerback and not forward, as he would in soccer.
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“Aye, that was actually good coverage,” Samuel said to Griezmann in the clip.
San Francisco’s Swiss Army Knife toyed with Griezmann and was all over the gridiron -- not pitch -- running a mix of routes.
“We’re going to run a fade,” Samuel said before running deep. “This is not going to be good.”
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Indeed, Samuel cooked the world-renowned soccer winger. And then he did it a few more times.
“I know you,” Griezmann told Samuel while huffing and puffing. “Only deep ball, bro!”
Overall, Griezmann ended up playing solid defense against Samuel, but it wasn’t enough.
Yet he still was better than the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13 of the 2023 NFL season. Samuel had 198 all-purpose yards and three scores at Lincoln Financial Field.
“He’s too strong,” Griezmann said after being outrun by Samuel again.
However, Samuel wasn’t impeccable.
The pair switched sides for the final snap, and Griezmann got revenge on Samuel.
“Perfect!” Griezmann proudly shouted after beating Samuel with a nasty zig route.
The 33-year-old Griezmann did well, considering he has logged 40,698 minutes on the pitch over a remarkable 16 professional seasons and a contrasting zero minutes of any American football.
But Samuel, starting his sixth 49ers season, has 283 career receptions, 4,122 yards and 19 touchdowns for a reason.
Hopefully, Samuel’s extra repetitions against Griezmann will help the wideout in San Francisco’s Week 1 matchup with the New York Jets on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football.”