Didier Deschamps must have appreciated the show. Tuesday evening, PSG and Bayern offered superb publicity for football, with a crazy match (5-4). Michael Olise, Désiré Doué and Ousmane Dembélé were excellent, Warren Zaire-Emery was impactful, and even Dayot Upamecano did well, despite the defensive ordeal experienced by his team.
On the other hand, Kylian Mbappé may have pouted a little when he saw this meeting. The Bondynois will experience a white season on a collective level with Real Madrid. And with this crazy PSG-Bayern, it’s his race for the Ballon d’Or that’s getting complicated.
To win the prestigious trophy, you must make an impact with your individual performances and win titles. Between Olise and Dembélé, one of the two will be in the Champions League final, with the status of favorite against Arsenal or Atlético. One of the two will clearly assert itself as a major contender for the Ballon d’Or.
Three French people who win the Ballon d’Or… and not Mbappé?
For Mbappé, it is not yet lost. We are in a World Cup year, and if the Blues win another title, their captain and attacking leader will score very big points. But Olise and Dembélé will also strengthen their candidacy, at the same time. Or Mbappé would have to be much more decisive than them this summer in the United States, by piling up the goals, if possible in the final. It’s within his ropes, we know it.
Despite everything, this Champions League campaign will not plead in favor of the “Kiks”. We can therefore imagine a scenario where a Frenchman would win the Ballon d’Or for the second year in a row, without it being the very ambitious Mbappé. Who could have predicted, five years ago, that we could have three different French Ballons d’Or (counting that of Karim Benzema in 2022), and not once the Bondy prodigy? Not Kylian, anyway.
