Mourinho: the one who deserves the Ballon d'Or is not in Spain or Paris
The Portuguese coach criticises the "politicisation" of the award
José Mourinho gave his verdict on the Ballon d'Or contenders and offered fresh updates on Endrick and Aurélien Tchouaméni. The Real Madrid manager was speaking ahead of Sunday's clash with Málaga at the Bernabéu, in the third round of the Spanish league.
Mourinho addressed the Ballon d'Or during his pre-match press conference. "It is a wonderful award on an individual level. This award enters into the personal history of a certain player. There are about 12 players at a very high level, and we have 3 or 4 of them (at Real Madrid)."
He added: "For me, the Ballon d'Or should go to those players whom we miss forever when they retire. I miss Maradona, (Ronaldo) Nazário, Messi, Zidane and Matthäus. You cannot give the Ballon d'Or to players just because they won the Champions League or the World Cup. If you want to reward the winner of the Champions League, then give the Ballon d'Or to Luis Enrique."
Turning to Spain, he continued: "De la Fuente definitely deserves it. This is the greatest honour. The best in the world is something else, it does not have to be from Paris Saint-Germain or Spain. There are two or three or four, and we know who they are. We know where they are, they are here. We know who made history individually this summer."
He went on: "The Ballon d'Or has a political character, and if politics interferes, then I do not like that."
Endrick and Tchouaméni
On his injured pair, Endrick and Tchouaméni, he said: "Endrick is the closest to returning. I do not want to risk him against Real Betis. Honestly, he may be ready for the Betis match (in the fourth round of the league) or the first match in the Champions League."
The other cases are trickier. "Regarding Tchouaméni, we have to control our emotions. I do not want his comings and goings to be frequent. I do not want us to start the season in August with a situation like this. I hope Tchouaméni will be ready, and I prefer to wait a little."
