Ballon d’Or: Dembélé issues a challenge that could unsettle Mbappé

At Clairefontaine, on October 26 next in London, Ousmane Dembélé and his teammate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will answer questions from the BBC and journalist Julien Laurens, while the Parisian, candidate to succeed the Ballon d’Or, will have to face Kylian Mbappé in the race for the Ballon d’Or.

Dembélé points to Kvaratskhelia

The two players, Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, were asked about the future winner of the Ballon d’Or; Dembélé gave a wide smile before pointing to his Georgian teammate. “It’s him. Honestly, he deserves it. He had an exceptional season,” he said.

He then added, mischievously, with a slight laugh: “As they say, he also burned the retina.” A short phrase that recalls the style of the captain of Les Bleus, Kylian Mbappé, whose expression has become one of the hallmarks of Les Bleus.

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In June 2023, the same player, then still at Paris Saint‑Germain, had said: “What are the new criteria? Is it burning the retina and being impactful? I think I meet the criteria.” This quote shows that the retina theme recurs regularly.

Having been at Clairefontaine since the beginning of the week, Dembélé and Mbappé will then fly to Turkey, where the French national team will play its first match under the direction of Zinédine Zidane on Friday at 20:45. They will then have the opportunity to discuss their respective statements regarding the Ballon d’Or.