Mourinho Critiques Ballon d'Or Criteria Ahead of Match

José Mourinho, the current coach of Real Madrid, questioned the criteria for awarding the Ballon d'Or during a pre-match conference ahead of the LaLiga clash against Málaga. He argued that the award should not be given based solely on winning major team trophies like the Champions League or World Cup.

Mourinho stated that the Ballon d'Or should honor players whose contributions to football are remembered long after their retirement, citing legends such as Maradona, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, Zinedine Zidane, and Lothar Matthäus. He suggested that if the award were to reflect team success, it should be given to managers like Luis Enrique or the coach of the Spanish national team, De la Fuente.

Mourinho maintained that recognizing the best individual player is a separate issue and noted that political aspects might influence the award's outcome, which he finds unappealing.