An agreement, a cover, and a row
An agreement. A cover photo. And, straight away, a furious reaction.
PSG had given the green light. France Football could interview three Paris players in the Ballon d’Or build-up: Fabian Ruiz, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Ousmane Dembele. It was all meant to shine a light on the team effort in Paris. But when the issue hit the shelves, the cover pushed another name to the front. Kylian Mbappe. Not part of the original deal, yet all over the magazine.
The club has made its displeasure known to the editors who run the ceremony. The message behind closed doors is pretty clear. PSG feel they were used to help sell an issue built around a player who left the club years ago.
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Every club backs its own man
It is the kind of episode that shows how much the pressure is building with only weeks left before the award is handed out. Every club wants its own man front and centre. Real Madrid are pushing Mbappe, the man who set the La Liga goals record in a season. Barca are banking on Lamine Yamal, the teenage prodigy already acting like he owns the place at just 19. Bayern Munich are standing behind Harry Kane, the Bundesliga’s top scorer last season. PSG, though, are going the team route. Two names instead of one: Dembele, last year’s winner, and Kvaratskhelia, who plenty in the press are already putting among the favourites for this edition.
A strategy with a sting in the tail
Splitting the vote between two players can weaken both bids against clearer, single-name favourites. But it also says plenty about a PSG dressing room that would rather stick together than turn the award into a scrap, unlike some clubs where the race for individual glory can quickly become a full-blown power struggle.
The ceremony is getting closer. The opinion pieces are piling up. And PSG? They will be checking every magazine cover that comes out.
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