Kylian Mbappé is still popular with the French. According to a survey Odoxa carried out on October 20 and 21 for RTL And Winamaxamong 1,005 people including 429 football fans, the Real Madrid striker is the player who most deserves to win the Ballon d’Or, with 23% of quotes among French people and 24% among football fans. His World Cup, marked by a semi-finalist place, the title of top scorer and that of second best passer, weighs in the balance. Ousmane Dembélé comes second among the French with 18%, ahead of Lamine Yamal and Michael Olise (11%). Among football fans, Olise climbs to second place with 16%, ahead of Yamal (15%) and Dembélé (12%). Harry Kane, although among the favorites, only receives 5% of quotes from the French and 7% from football fans.
This preference is part of a vision of football where the World Cup must carry more weight than club competitions. For 37% of football fans, it must be the main criterion in the Ballon d’Or vote, just ahead of the Champions League (34%). If 81% still consider the trophy to be the most prestigious of individual awards, its media omnipresence arouses criticism. 78% believe that it has taken on a disproportionate dimension and 69% think that it pushes players to prioritize their statistics to the detriment of the team. The media campaign led by Mbappé in September also seems to have produced the opposite effect to that expected. According to Odoxa62% of football fans believe that it has rather reduced their chances of winning the Ballon d’Or, compared to 37% who think that it has strengthened them.
