Campaigns seen as over the top
The 2026 Ballon d’Or is being decided well away from the pitch too. The leading contenders and their clubs are piling on the media push to sway the vote. It is a tactic that is not exactly winning over everyone with a ballot.
Yazid Ouahib, an Algerian juror since 2007, does not mince his words. “I have been a juror since 2007 and I have to say these campaigns are unlike anything we have seen over the past two years. These interviews do not affect my vote,” he said. Swedish juror Anders Bengtsson shares the view: “These campaigns have absolutely no influence on me. They may sway some voters, but only if they had not thought it through properly in the first place.”
Try it for $0.99.
A backfire risk
Pascal Ferré, the former editor-in-chief of France Football and a voter for the past seven years, goes a step further. In his view, all the pushing can end up hurting the candidates. “Jurors are not three-week-old rabbits. When campaigns clutter the space in a clumsy way, voters feel under pressure. That noise can annoy them because the play is far too obvious,” he explains.
The voting criteria have stayed the same for years: individual performance, team trophies and fair play. The jurors interviewed say they stick to those standards and do not get distracted by the noise around them.
A short list still wide open
Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Harry Kane or Ousmane Dembele are among the names most often mentioned to replace the latest winner. The ceremony, set for 26 October in London, is shaping up to be fiercely contested, despite the growing irritation among part of the panel.
Discover the rest of the football news on our mathodds website and app!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply