Ballon d’Or: Luis Enrique wears himself out amid contradictory predictions
Thirteen days before the Ballon d’Or announcement, the debate is heating up like never before: on one side, Luis Enrique, Spain's coach, expresses his fed‑up with the speculation, while the other side sees rankings and odds that contradict each other every hour.
Luis Enrique's Disappointment
Asked on the eve of the trip to Manchester City, Luis Enrique said he was “tired of the Ballon d’Or”. He reminded that his team won the Best Team award last year and that several of his players deserve the trophy. “We have players who deserve it,” he affirmed, stressing that the debates must not distract attention from the collective.
The Voices of the Contenders
Among the contenders, Lamine Yamal, Ousmane Dembélé, Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia each put forward their arguments. A poll relayed by GOAL and attributed to L’Équipe puts Mbappé at the top, followed by Kvaratskhelia and Kane, while Yamal does not appear among the top three. The bookmakers, for their part, offer very different odds: William Hill lists Kane at 1/2, Yamal at 7/4 and Mbappé at 25/1.
Confusion of Rankings and Odds
The paradox of the same player being ranked first in a poll and third in a bookmaker's odds is not a mistake, the second part of the text explains. No official public ranking exists before the ceremony on October 26, and editorial rankings, polls and odds simply reflect distinct perceptions. The Independent even presented Yamal as the bookmakers' favourite in early October, before Bookies.com placed him alongside Kane and William Hill moved him to the top.
Despite these fluctuations, Luis Enrique reminds that the only decisive result will be the judges' vote, now closed and secret until the official revelation. He encourages his players to stay calm, citing Ferran Torres who has scored seven goals in seven matches, but warns that a lack of goals could create a “mess”. He concludes by saying that criticism is inevitable for top‑level players.
This duality between the Spanish coach's exasperation and the frenzy of rankings shows how the race for the Ballon d’Or has become a media phenomenon as much as a sporting award. The public will continue to see new rankings, polls and odds appear up to the evening of October 26, when the true winner will finally be revealed.