- Published
An emotional Ousmane Dembele had barely settled back into his chair at Paris' historic Theatre du Chatelet last September, gold-dipped orb in hand, when campaigns for this year's men's Ballon d'Or prize began to whirr into action.
asserted
campaigns → publish → action
Entourages roused their candidates, media revelled in the hype.
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media → rouse → hype
Who deserved the award in 2026?
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Who → deserve → 2026
A World Cup year, no less, in which the narrative occasionally became not just which players could lead their country to glory, but how doing so would help them secure football's biggest individual accolade.
uncertain
them → become → accolade
"The Ballon d'Or has been discussed every single day," said European football expert Guillem Balague on BBC Sport's Euro Leagues podcast.
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Balague → discuss → podcast
"Quite clearly it follows the pattern of society, where it puts a lot of emphasis on the individual - it's harder to understand why a collective works, it becomes very easy to understand why one dribbles or doesn't dribble.
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one → follow → individual
"
Clamour for the spotlight only increased as the red-carpet ceremony neared.
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ceremony → increase → spotlight
"You can't underestimate the PR machine that some clubs and some players are going to use," added French football journalist Julien Laurens.
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Laurens → underestimate → that
Managers and sporting directors talked up their charges, and questioned why others on their squad did not make the 30-man shortlist.
Deco branded it a "huge scandal" that Barcelona pair Raphinha and Pedri missed out, but backed Lamine Yamal as overwhelming favourite to win it.
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Raphinha → talk → it
Not, he says, because he is also a Barca player, but "because I like football".
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I → say → football
Star names have appeared frequently in the media.
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names → appear → media
Lamine Yamal himself insisted he will not "beg for anything" - after last year saying he dreamed of "winning many" - but suggested the prize should not merely go to the top goalscorer.
uncertain
prize → insist → goalscorer
Paris St-Germain manager Luis Enrique confessed he is "bored of the Ballon d’Or" - although with a record 10 PSG players on the shortlist, perhaps he wishes to keep out of the debate.
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he → confess → debate
Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia talked each other up to BBC Sport.
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Dembele → talk → Sport
"We can cut it in two," joked Dembele.
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Dembele → cut → two
"Honestly, he deserves it, the season he had was exceptional."
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he → deserve → it
Kvaratskhelia responded: "Of course it's him!"
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it → respond → ?
A 'Kvara d'Or' campaign in Georgia celebrated the country's favourite fleet-footed son.
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campaign → celebrate → son
"I think for the big nations it's really difficult to understand what [winning] would mean for the small country," the winger explained.
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winger → think → country
Kylian Mbappe, who Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho compared to the original Ronaldo, was less subtle than most in his pitch to win the award for the first time.
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Mourinho → compare → time
"I always think I'm the best but everyone has their own opinion," professed the Frenchman, now the all-time World Cup top goalscorer.
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Frenchman → think → opinion
"Of course, this year could be good for me to win the Ballon d'Or - but journalists vote."
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journalists → win → d'Or
Indeed - since a short spell of national team captains and managers also voting ended in 2015 - the 30-player shortlist drawn up by the publications France Football and L'Equipe has been voted on by one journalist from each of the top 100 Fifa-ranked nations.
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shortlist → vote → nations
The deadline has passed.
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deadline → pass → ?
The winner has already been chosen.
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winner → choose → ?
Messi, Ronaldo and social media
James Kirkham, a sports brand strategist who has worked with top clubs and players, including Harry Kane, says the build-up has had an election feel.
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up → work → feel
"You're going out, canvassing, getting your vote and making sure you shore up certain blocks from certain countries, and why wouldn't you?" adds Kirkham.
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Kirkham → go → countries
Max Eberl, Bayern Munich's board member for sport, championed Kane and Michael Olise but said the best players, external "are the ones who don't need to run a campaign".
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who → champion → campaign
Mbappe's compatriot, Jean-Pierre Papin, winner of the award in 1991, meanwhile told French TV:, external "I like Kylian a lot, he's a record-breaker.
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he → tell → Kylian
However, there comes a point when it's all about me, me, me and me."
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it → come → me
Mbappe did make an interesting observation, alluding to the dominance of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo - the pair won a combined 13 in a 15-year period between 2008 and 2023.
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pair → make → 2008
"My idea of the Ballon d'Or comes from the Messi and Ronaldo era - you don't give it to ordinary players, you give it to players who are different," explained Mbappe.
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Mbappe → come → players
AC Milan's Kaka was the last recipient before Messi and Ronaldo's tug-of-war began, the Brazilian pipping the young pair to the prize in 2007.
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Brazilian → begin → 2007
That was a year after fledgling social media platforms Facebook and Twitter launched to the public.
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platforms → launch → public
Nokia dominated mobile phone markets, people took digital cameras on nights out.
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people → dominate → nights
The world had changed immeasurably by the time Messi won for an eighth time in 2023.
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Messi → change → 2023
"Today everything moves at the speed of light," explains former AC Milan chief executive and sporting director Ariedo Braida, who witnessed the club land seven awards, from Ruud Gullit to Marco van Basten's treble, George Weah, Andriy Shevchenko and Kaka.
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club → move → Weah
"Fans follow individuals - the players - rather than the club themselves.
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Fans → follow → club
It's a widespread phenomenon, which we see, for example, in politics too.
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we → see → politics
"Once upon a time, you'd be a Milan fan and go to watch Milan.
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you → go → Milan
…and 43 more, not listed.
The Aporia
