Real Madrid coach José Mourinho has argued that the Ballon d’Or should be awarded to the best individual player in the world rather than automatically going to a player whose team has won the Champions League or World Cup.
Mourinho made the remarks during his pre-match press conference ahead of Real Madrid’s home clash with Málaga on Sunday.
The Portuguese manager pointed to some of football’s greatest names, including Diego Maradona, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Ronaldo Nazário and Zinedine Zidane, as examples of players whose individual brilliance left a lasting legacy on the sport.
“The Ballon d’Or should go to one of those players who, when they retire, we miss them for eternity. Maradona, Cristiano, Messi, R9, Zidane,” Mourinho said.
He rejected the idea that winning a major team trophy should, on its own, determine the winner of the prestigious individual award.
“You can’t give the Ballon d’Or to a guy just for winning the UCL or the World Cup. If you should give it to someone just for winning the UCL, then give it to Luis Enrique,” he added.
Mourinho further stressed that a player’s nationality or club should not influence the voting, insisting that the award should recognise the outstanding individual performer.
“No, it needs to go to the best player in the world, not necessarily a Spanish guy, or a PSG player. It needs to go to one of the 3-4 best players in the world, and those guys are HERE,” he said.
The former Chelsea, Inter Milan and Manchester United manager also suggested that politics can sometimes play a role in Ballon d’Or voting, although he said he preferred not to involve himself in such discussions.
“But politics come into the Ballon d’Or, so I don’t like getting into politics,” Mourinho concluded.
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