“He does not have to be from PSG or Spain”: Jose Mourinho hits out at the Ballon d’Or award process

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has called the Ballon d'Or voting process into question. Including purely team achievements is the wrong approach to determining the best player in the world.

"You cannot award the Ballon d'Or to a player just because he has won the Champions League or the World Cup," the Portuguese said at Real's press conference before Sunday's game against promoted side FC Malaga at the Santiago Bernabeu.

He argued the award should be reserved for players who define an era and are still missed by the sport long after they retire. "For me, the Ballon d'Or has to go to one of those players we will miss for eternity when they stop playing. I miss Maradona, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano, Messi, Zizou, Lothar Matthäus... I miss these people," said Mourinho.

According to Mourinho, if the main aim is to reward team success, there are better options. "If you want to honour the Champions League, you should give the Ballon d'Or to Luis Enrique - the coach's Ballon d'Or, representing the team. Or to the Spain national team. Mister De la Fuente certainly deserves the coach's Ballon d'Or. That would be the great honour for a team that goes down in history," Mourinho explained.

How does Jose Mourinho criticise the awarding of the Ballon d'Or?

Mourinho believes individual performance has to be judged separately. "Something else is the best player in the world. He does not have to be from Paris Saint-Germain or from the Spain national team," Mourinho explained, adding: "The best player in the world are two, three or four, and we know who they are and where they are. And they are here. And we know who made history individually this summer."

The 63-year-old also questioned the criteria used by those making the decision. "Maybe the Ballon d'Or is also something political. And when politics comes into it, I don't like it quite so much any more. You know my opinion on the Ballon d'Or. We are not going to invent anything new now with either the Spain national team or Paris Saint-Germain. Players? That's something else," said Mourinho.

The 70th Ballon d'Or ceremony will take place on Monday, 26 October, and it brings a special innovation. To mark the anniversary, the prestigious gala will be held in London for the first time rather than in Paris. Since 1956, France Football has awarded the Ballon d'Or each year to the best player of the previous season.

How does the awarding of the Ballon d'Or work?

The assessment period for the Ballon d'Or runs from 1 August 2025 to 31 July 2026. That means performances at club level and the 2026 World Cup in North America are both taken into account.

A total of 100 journalists from countries ranked among the top 100 nations in the FIFA world rankings cast the vote. Each media representative selects a personal top 10 from the official shortlist and distributes points on a sliding scale: the player in first place receives 15 points, second gets 12, third 10, fourth 8 and fifth 7 points. Places six to ten are rewarded with 5, 4, 3, 2 and one point.

Ballon d'Or: The past ten winners