Mourinho attacks Ballon d’Or criteria: “The best are here”

José Mourinho has launched Real Madrid’s Ballon d’Or campaign. The Portuguese coach questioned the idea that an individual award should be determined by winning the Champions League or the World Cup and suggested that the game’s best players are currently at the Bernabéu.

Mourinho addressed the subject during his press conference before Madrid’s league match against Málaga. Instead of immediately naming a favourite, he first offered his own definition of a player worthy of football’s most prestigious individual prize.

“For me, the Ballon d’Or should go to one of those players who, when they stop playing, we miss them for eternity,” Mourinho said. “I miss Maradona, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano, Messi, Zizou and Lothar Matthäus.”

The Madrid coach rejected the idea that the biggest team trophies should provide the primary reason for selecting the winner.

“You can’t give the Ballon d’Or to a player just because he won the Champions League or the World Cup,” he explained. “If you want to reward the Champions League, give the coaching award to Luis Enrique. With the Spanish national team, coach De la Fuente surely deserves the coaching award. That would be a tribute to a team that entered history. Being the best player in the world is something else.”

Mourinho then directed the conversation towards his own dressing room.

“The best player in the world is among two, three or four, and we know who they are and where they are,” he added. “They’re here. We also know who made individual history this summer.”

Although Mourinho did not name one player in that section of his answer, his comments were widely interpreted as support for Kylian Mbappé. The Frenchman has started the league season in outstanding form and scored a hat-trick in Madrid’s victory over Real Sociedad. Mourinho had also praised Vinícius and Jude Bellingham, while stating that Madrid possess three or four candidates at the highest level.

The Portuguese coach also addressed the forces outside football that can influence the vote.

“The Ballon d’Or may also have some political aspects to it,” Mourinho said. “When politics come into play, I don’t like it as much.”

Real Madrid’s official transcript leaves little doubt about the purpose of the message. Mourinho separated team success from individual greatness, challenged the assumed advantage of candidates from PSG and Spain, and then identified the Bernabéu as the home of the best.

Voting has not finished, but Madrid’s campaign has already begun. Mourinho did not provide the winner’s name. He gave the voters a very precise address instead.