Real Madrid coach José Mourinho has questioned the criteria used to determine the Ballon d’Or winner, arguing that major team trophies such as the Champions League or World Cup should not automatically make a player the recipient of the individual award.
Mourinho made the remarks ahead of Real Madrid’s LaLiga meeting with Málaga, saying the Ballon d’Or should recognise players whose individual influence on football remains memorable long after their careers have ended.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, the Portuguese manager said winning the prestigious award should be an ambition for the game’s leading players.
“It’s a very beautiful individual achievement that enters the individual history of a particular player. And I think it’s normal for there to be candidates—there aren’t many, about a dozen top-level players, among whom we have three or four. It’s natural for it to be an ambition,” Mourinho said, according to a statement published on the club’s website on Saturday.
He argued that the award should be reserved for players whose contribution to football transcends their list of team honours.
“For me, the Ballon d’Or should go to one of those players who, when they stop playing, we miss them for eternity. I miss Maradona, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano, Messi, Zizou, Lothar Matthäus… I miss these players,” he said.
Mourinho insisted that success with a club or national team should not, on its own, determine who is regarded as the world’s best player.
“You can’t give the Ballon d’Or to a player just because he won the Champions or the World Cup,” he said.
The Real Madrid coach added that identifying the world’s best individual player was a separate matter from assessing a team’s success.
“But being the best player in the world is another thing. And he doesn’t necessarily have to be from Paris Saint-Germain or the Spanish national team. The best player in the world is among two, three, or four, and we know who they are and where they are. And they’re here. And we know who, individually, made history this summer.”
Mourinho also raised concerns about the possible influence of factors outside sporting performance on the award.
“Then, the Ballon d’Or may also have some political aspects to it. And when politics come into play, I don’t like it as much,” he said.
“But you already know my view of the Ballon d’Or, and we’re not going to reinvent it now with the Spanish national team or Paris Saint-Germain. Player? That’s something else,” Mourinho concluded.
