Ballon d'Or nominees promote themselves

But now, the award dominates football conversations during the first months of the resumed European leagues.

The award will be presented on October 26, while the decisive phase of the race began on September 8 when France Football magazine, the organizer of the award, published a list of 30 nominees to succeed Frenchman Ousmane Dembélé.

The ceremony will be held in London, although only five of the 30 nominees play in the English Premier League.

The award does not include any financial prize, but it has become a source of increased income and status for players and their clubs.

Many stars have special bonuses in their sponsorship contracts linked to winning the award, and it also boosts the overall market value of the player and their club.

The list of historical Ballon d'Or winners is led by Argentina's Lionel Messi, who has won the award eight times, and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won it five times.

Forbes magazine estimates their annual income from sponsorship contracts at more than $65 million each.

Clubs can also expect an increase in sales of their memorabilia if one of their players wins the award.

About 100 invited journalists, each representing one of the top 100 countries in the FIFA world rankings, will participate in the voting process.

With no clear frontrunner, players and their public relations agencies have intensified their promotional campaigns, and there is no longer any embarrassment in showcasing achievements to gather votes.

"I deserve it"

Lamine Yamal, winner of the Spanish League last season and the 2026 World Cup, said in an interview with Movistar Plus that "for me, Mbappe and I are the best players in the world."

The 19-year-old added, "I honestly think that in terms of who is the best in the world, there are the two of us, and this year I deserve it (the Ballon d'Or), thanks to what I have achieved."

This statement came in response to the Frenchman, who had emphasized the individual nature of the award days earlier, after a year in which he did not win any title with Real Madrid or France, which lost in the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup against Spain and Yamal.

However, he succeeded during that tournament in scoring 10 goals, becoming the all-time top scorer of the World Cup with 22 goals.

The top scorer of La Liga and the Champions League last season said, "Being the top scorer in the history of the World Cup, surpassing the greatest legends of the game in the most important tournament, is something remarkable, a global event."

He added, "Who will I vote for? Myself."

His coach at Real Madrid, Portuguese Jose Mourinho, supported his narrative, saying, "We know who made history this summer, and he doesn't play for Paris Saint-Germain, nor the Spanish national team."

In 2024, the "Royal Club" boycotted the ceremony just before traveling, after learning that none of its seven nominees had won.

Saint-Germain holds a record this year with 10 nominees, after managing to retain its Champions League title.

But this huge number, and the club's reputation as a team with a collective spirit, could be a weapon against its chances of winning.

The most prominent candidates from the Parisian team are Dembélé, Georgian Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Spaniard Fabián Ruiz, the only player on the list of nominees who won both the Champions League and the World Cup.

Why not dream?

The Spanish midfielder told French television, "Why not dream?"

The capital club refuses to support only one of its players, but defends the right of one of its stars to the award.

The team's coach, Luis Enrique, said, "'Kvara' (Kvaratskhelia) and (Désiré) Doué are tremendous players. For me, 'Kvara' can win the Ballon d'Or, just as Dembélé and others can."

Dembélé told France Football that he would not try to influence the vote.

He added, "Let the best player win. In any case, I'm not the one voting for myself. I never promote myself. They are the ones who decide."

For his part, England captain Harry Kane remained silent on the subject, despite scoring 73 goals and leading Bayern Munich to the league and cup double, and the "Three Lions" team to third place in the 2026 World Cup.

His teammate at Bayern, Colombian Luis Díaz, who is on the list of nominees, said, "He deserves to win it, 100 percent, without any doubt."

The talented Lamine Yamal

German Hansi Flick, coach of Barcelona, the Spanish league champion, praised yesterday the self-confidence of the talented Lamine Yamal after the latter stated in a press interview that he and Frenchman Kylian Mbappé, the Real Madrid striker, are among the best players in the world and deserve to win the 2026 Ballon d'Or.

Flick said in a press conference, "Lamine? I think he's just being honest. He has that self-confidence, and he showed at the beginning of this season how strong he is. He is an exceptional player. I would have preferred if he hadn't said that, but it's normal that he wants to win the Ballon d'Or; it's an important award. He is expressing what he feels, and I will continue to support him."

Flick added, "What I like is that he shows that confidence on the pitch as well. We all love seeing him play this way; when he dribbles past one, two, or three players, the whole stadium cheers in admiration!"

He added, "This is Lamine. It's great to have a player like him. He says he deserves to win the Ballon d'Or, and I think he does. He won two titles with us and the World Cup with Spain, so why not?"

The 19-year-old winger, who finished second in the voting behind Frenchman Ousmane Dembélé in the Ballon d'Or race last year, stated in an interview to be broadcast in full next Friday on Movistar channel that he deserves to win the award this year, ahead of Mbappé.

He emphasized, "In my opinion, Mbappé and I are the best players in the world. This is very clear, and everyone who watches the matches knows that."

When asked about this topic, his coach Flick (61 years old) expressed his support, but admitted that he would be "very happy" when the Ballon d'Or campaign ends.

The German coach, who is under contract with Barcelona until 2028, expressed his happiness at hosting the 2029 Champions League final at the Camp Nou stadium, which is still undergoing renovations, but he did not commit to continuing to coach the Catalan club until that time.

The former Bayern Munich and German national team coach explained, "I will be there, for sure... whether as a coach or as a Barcelona fan. No one knows what the future holds in the world of football, as things change quickly. I love living in Barcelona and coaching this wonderful team, but nothing is guaranteed."

Barcelona, the league title holder for the past two seasons and the current leader, seeks to achieve its sixth consecutive victory on Wednesday against newly promoted Racing Santander.