Luis Enrique Insists: Ballon d'Or Must Go to a PSG Player

Delighted with his players' performance, who secured the Champions League title for the second consecutive season, Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique firmly stated that one of his players deserves to be crowned with the Ballon d'Or.

Several Parisian club players have strong claims for the award, which will be presented on October 26th in London. After defending their Champions League title, PSG's leading players from the 2025-26 season have emerged as top contenders for the most prestigious individual accolade. Among them, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembélé stand out. Fabian Ruiz is also on the list, having also triumphed with the World Cup title with Spain in 2026.

Although the competition for the three Parisians will be fierce, according to their coach's entirely objective opinion, the best player of the season must undoubtedly come from PSG. "I don't care who wins the Ballon d'Or. But in my opinion, it should be a Paris Saint-Germain player," Luis Enrique declared on Thursday, ahead of their Ligue 1 match against Monaco.

At the press conference, Enrique elaborated on his reasoning: "We have everything: we have players who won the Champions League, we have Fabian (Ruiz) who won the World Cup, Ousmane Dembélé who won the Ballon d'Or last season... So for me, he (the winner) must be from PSG. That's my opinion, I might be wrong."

This stance from the Spanish coach is entirely logical. However, it stands in stark contrast to that of José Mourinho, who, for his part, categorically rejected the idea that the world's best player must necessarily play for PSG or the Spanish national team. "There are two, three, or four candidates, and we know who they are. We know where they are: here (in Madrid). We know who made history on an individual level this summer."

With these words, the Real Madrid coach was referring to Kylian Mbappé, who is in a much stronger position than Vinicius or Jude Bellingham. The Frenchman had an exceptional World Cup on a personal level (10 goals), becoming the sole top scorer in the history of the World Cup finals (22 goals). Besides him, other serious contenders for the award include Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane, Lionel Messi, Rodri, and Michael Olise.