José Mourinho has argued that the Ballon d’Or should be awarded to the best individual player in the world rather than automatically going to a player whose team has won the Champions League or World Cup.
The Real Madrid coach made the remarks during his pre-match press conference ahead of his side’s La Liga clash with Málaga on Sunday.
Madrid have made a perfect start to the campaign, winning their opening two matches against Espanyol and Real Sociedad, and will be looking to maintain their momentum against Málaga.
Mourinho said the prestigious individual award should recognise players whose performances and careers leave a lasting impression on football.
He cited legends including Diego Maradona, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Ronaldo Nazário and Zinedine Zidane as examples of the calibre of players who should define the Ballon d’Or.
“The Ballon d’Or should go to one of those players who, when they retire, we miss them for eternity. Maradona, Cristiano, Messi, R9, Zidane,” Mourinho said.
The Portuguese manager also criticised the practice of using major team trophies as the primary basis for determining the winner.
“You can’t give the Ballon d’Or to a guy just for winning the UCL or the World Cup. If you should give it to someone just for winning the UCL, then give it to Luis Enrique,” he said.
Mourinho insisted that a player’s nationality or club should not influence the voting, stressing that the award should go to one of the very best individual performers in world football.
“No, it needs to go to the best player in the world, not necessarily a Spanish guy, or a PSG player. It needs to go to one of the three or four best players in the world, and those guys are HERE,” he said.
The former Chelsea, Inter Milan and Manchester United manager also suggested that politics could play a role in the Ballon d’Or voting process.
However, Mourinho said he preferred to stay away from such controversies.
“But politics come into the Ballon d’Or, so I don’t like getting into politics,” he concluded.
