An emotional Ousmane Dembele had barely settled back into his chair at Paris' historic Theatre du Chatelet last September, gold-dipped orb in hand, when campaigns for this year's men's Ballon d'Or prize began to whirr into action. Entourages roused their candidates, and the media revelled in the hype. A World Cup year, no less, in which the narrative occasionally became not just which players could lead their country to glory, but how doing so would help them secure football's biggest individual accolade.
"The Ballon d'Or has been discussed every single day," said European football expert Guillem Balague on BBC Sport's Euro Leagues podcast. Clamour for the spotlight only increased as the red-carpet ceremony neared. "You can't underestimate the PR machine that some clubs and some players are going to use," added French football journalist Julien Laurens. Deco branded it a "huge scandal" that Barcelona pair Raphinha and Pedri missed out, but backed Lamine Yamal as overwhelming favourite.
Star names have dominated the coverage. Lamine Yamal insisted he will not "beg for anything", while Paris St-Germain manager Luis Enrique confessed he is "bored of the Ballon d'Or" despite a record 10 PSG players on the shortlist. Kylian Mbappe, now the all-time World Cup top goalscorer, was less subtle than most in his pitch: "Of course, this year could be good for me to win the Ballon d'Or - but journalists vote."
That is exactly the case. The 30-player shortlist drawn up by France Football and L'Equipe has been voted on by one journalist from each of the top 100 Fifa-ranked nations, and the deadline has already passed. Sports brand strategist James Kirkham said the build-up has had an election feel. Bayern Munich's Max Eberl, meanwhile, argued that the best players "are the ones who don't need to run a campaign".
Source: BBC Sport Football · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing