Müller selects Olise and Mbappe for Ballon d'Or shortlist

Not Harry Kane, not Lamine Yamal. Thomas Müller, 37, states in his monthly e‑mail newsletter his surprising choice for the Ballon vote and names Michael Olise as well as Kylian Mbappe as the two candidates who excite him the most and emphasizes that their individual performance is the decisive criterion.

Kane and Yamal are considered favorites

Harry Kane is generally regarded as the clear favorite, because he won the national double with FC Bayern and scored a total of 73 goals for club and country during the assessment period – more than any other player. Lamine Yamal, on the other hand, won the Spanish Primera División with FC Barcelona and the World Cup with the Spanish national team, which also makes him a top candidate.

Michael Olise, who won the double with FC Bayern alongside Kane, is named by Müller as one of his favorites, even though he scored far fewer goals than his attacking partner. Kylian Mbappe, Olise's congenial partner at the World Cup, spent the previous season with Real Madrid without a major trophy, yet both combined in the tournament spectacular actions with high goal‑scoring threat.

Thomas Müller, now active with the Vancouver Whitecaps in MLS, mentioned neither Kane nor Yamal in his statement, but focused exclusively on Olise and Mbappe. In doing so, he underscores his personal perspective, which deviates from pure performance data.

The awarding of the Ballon d'Or will take place on October 26 at the London Palladium Theatre; the vote is organized by the French football magazine France Football, with selected journalists worldwide entitled to vote.

The contrast between the generally expected candidates and Müller's selection shows that, for him, individual performance and a certain “shot of magic” are decisive, not just titles or goal numbers.