Former Ballon d’Or chief backs Lamine Yamal over Mbappe in award debate

Pascal Ferre, the former editor-in-chief of France Football and a former Ballon d’Or official, says Kylian Mbappe should not win this year’s award because he did not claim a major team trophy during the season.

The Ballon d’Or winner will be announced in London on 26 October, with Mbappe among the leading contenders after a prolific campaign for Real Madrid. However, Ferre believes individual statistics alone should not determine the outcome.

Speaking to French newspaper Ouest-France and radio station Monte Carlo, Ferre argued that success in major competitions must remain a central factor when selecting the world’s best player.

He said the World Cup and the Champions League were the two most important tournaments when assessing the candidates.

“For me, a player who has not won either of them leaves a feeling of incompleteness, even if he has continued to score goals,” Ferre said.

His criticism was not limited to Mbappe’s lack of silverware. Ferre also questioned the France forward’s public campaign to strengthen his case for the award.

Mbappe has spoken in several interviews about why he believes he deserves the Ballon d’Or, pointing to his scoring record and his status as the World Cup’s top scorer.

Ferre described that approach as unusual and said it was strange for nominees to promote themselves so openly.

“The self-promotion of candidates is something unprecedented,” he told Monte Carlo.

Ferre added that he had spoken to a number of members of the voting panel who were unhappy with the repeated public statements.

He said the belief that voters could be influenced through a series of interviews showed poor judgement, referring to the journalists from different countries who take part in the Ballon d’Or vote.

The former France Football editor then revealed his preferred candidate for the award, backing Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal.

Ferre said the Spain international’s technical ability and record of winning trophies made him an exceptional player worthy of serious consideration.

“Lamine Yamal is the one who deserves it,” he said.

The comments set up a contrast between Mbappe’s individual output and Yamal’s achievements with Barcelona, while reinforcing Ferre’s view that collective honours should play a decisive role in the final vote.