The race for the Ballon d’Or unleashes passions. On October 26 in London, Ousmane Dembélé’s successor will be known. Several players are in the running to succeed him, like his PSG teammate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia or his compatriot and friend Kylian Mbappé. And the former Parisian was quick to position himself as “the chosen one”.
“I always had the idea that the Ballon d’Or should reward a different player. Of course there is the collective framework, it is important. Football is a team sport. But it’s an individual trophy. And the idea I have of the Ballon d’Or is that of the Messi and Ronaldo era. We never give it to standard players, but to different players. And I think I’ve done some different things this year.”he confided in the columns of France Football. Before ensuring that according to him “There has been no better player than me. We talked about accomplishments. To score so many goals in important competitions, where all the great players are there, and, of course, at the World Cup, the most important event.”.
Far from displaying the same state of mind as his former teammate at PSG, Ousmane Dembélé still wanted to respond to Kylian Mbappé. “I was always like that you know, in the back of the class working hard. In my entire career, I have not said a word, I have worked, enormously. As I said, I was never elected, but I worked a lot. Last year I was rewarded with a fantastic year with PSG. This year, we’ll see. No pressure, peaceful. You know, I was always at the back of the class, working hard. In my entire career, I haven’t said a word, I’ve worked a lot. Like I said, I was never the chosen one. But I worked a lot”he confided to the microphone of League 1+
after the victory against Brest.
“If Mbappé has to kill a friend for the Ballon d’Or, he will do it”
An answer that could cause a lot of talk in the coming days. For Walid Acherchour, it could even reflect a certain rupture between the two players. “Dembélé should not have responded to Mbappé, because it shows a certain sensitivity. He makes the wrong statement when he speaks of the chosen one. But it shows an accumulation and it means “stop”. If Mbappé has to kill a friend for the Ballon d’Or, he will do it, that’s the feeling Dembélé must have and that’s perhaps not his idea of friendship.he confides at the microphone of After Foot on RMC.
The Ballon d’Or could also have consequences on the atmosphere in the France team. “Does this influence the future in the French team or not? We’re not there yet. We know that there is a lot of hypocrisy in football, but it shows that Mbappé with the others, there is still a question mark”adds Walid Acherchour. Zinedine Zidane could therefore quickly be faced with a first major problem among the Blues.
