Why a PSG player not winning the Ballon d'Or is a blessing in disguise?

The Ballon d'Or ceremony took place on Monday night in London. Three PSG players finished in the top 10: Khvicha (6th), Ousmane Dembele (7th), and Fabian Ruiz (10th). There were several others, such as Achraf Hakimi (13th), Vitinha (14th), Joao Neves (19th), Willian Pacho (20th), Nuno Mendes (23rd), and Marquinhos (25th), who were named in the top 30. England captain Harry Kane was awarded the trophy, with Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal finishing second and third, respectively. Here at PSG Post, we discuss why a PSG player not winning the award is a blessing in disguise.

Why PSG players did not deserve the Ballon d'Or this year?

None of the PSG players deserved it

Harry Kane was rightfully awarded the individual award on Monday. It is hard to make a case for Khvicha, Ousmane Dembele, and Fabian Ruiz above him. Despite performing well in the Champions League last campaign, Khvicha got eight goals and two assists in 28 Ligue 1 games. Dembele did not play in almost half of the league games last season as Enrique wanted to rest him for Champions League games. Fabian Ruiz is a good player, but being part of the team that won the Champions League and World Cup played a vital role in the voters ranking him so high.

The players can come back stronger

Dembele and Khvicha will be motivated to prove that they should have won the award this year, particularly because neither finished in the top five. Khvicha case is more serious, as he won't feature again this season after tearing his ACL against Barcelona in the Champions League last week. This rules out the Georgian international's chances of winning the award next year. Dembele knows what it takes to win the award following his triumph in 2025.

The award is becoming hard to take seriously

Some players finished too high in the top 30, while others finished too low. For instance, Ruiz finished 10th whilst Hakimi ranked 13th. Very few PSG fans will say that Ruiz is a better player than Hakimi or that Ruiz outperformed Hakimi this season, so did Ruiz winning the World Cup influence the voters' decision? In another example, Michael Olise finished below Dembele and Khvicha despite the fact that Olise potentially had a better season than those two players.

Did PSG's Champions League campaign influence the voters' decision? Does PR play a part in the Ballon d'Or, as Lionel Messi finished 5th despite playing in the MLS? This suggests that the criteria for the award is unclear. You could argue that giving an individual award based on what your team and country have done is nonsensical.

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