Enrique responds to Mourinho: Paris stars more deserving of the Ballon d'Or | Goal.com

Published on 03 Sep 2026 | Reading time: 2 minutes

Luis Enrique has thrown his weight behind one of his own players to lift the 2026 Ballon d'Or, insisting the winner of football's most prestigious individual prize should come from the Paris Saint-Germain squad.

Organisers will reveal the Ballon d'Or winner on 26 October in London, and several PSG stars sit among the frontrunners after an exceptional campaign that ended with a second successive Champions League triumph.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembélé and Fabián Ruiz all stand out, particularly Ruiz, who added the 2026 World Cup to his medal collection with Spain.

Speaking at his press conference before PSG's third-round Ligue 1 clash with Monaco, Enrique said: "I don't care who wins the Ballon d'Or, but in my opinion the winner should be a Paris Saint-Germain player."

The Spaniard went further, as reported by RMC: "We have everything. We have players who have all won the Champions League, and Fabián Ruiz who won the World Cup, and Ousmane Dembélé who was crowned with the Ballon d'Or last season. So, for me, the winner should be from Paris Saint-Germain. This is my opinion, and I may be wrong."

His comments land with the race heating up. Kylian Mbappé, fresh from a stunning individual World Cup, is also in contention, along with Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane, Lionel Messi, Rodri and Michael Olise.

Enrique was hitting back at José Mourinho. The Real Madrid manager reckons "the winner of the Ballon d'Or this year should not necessarily be from Saint-Germain or the Spain national team".

Mourinho made his case last Saturday, at the press conference previewing Sunday's Málaga match: "It is a wonderful award on an individual level. This award enters the personal history of a particular player. There are around 12 players at a very high level, and we have 3 or 4 of them (at Real Madrid)."

He added: "For me, the Ballon d'Or should go to those players whom we miss forever when they retire. I miss Maradona, (Ronaldo) Nazário, Messi, Zidane and Matthäus. You cannot give the Ballon d'Or to players just because they won the Champions League or the World Cup. If you want to reward the Champions League winner, then give the Ballon d'Or to Luis Enrique."

The Portuguese continued: "As for Spain, De la Fuente definitely deserves it. This is the greatest honour. The best in the world is something else, it does not have to be from Paris Saint-Germain or Spain. There are two or three or four, and we know who they are. We know where they are, they are here. We know who made history individually this summer."

Mourinho named no names. Press reports, though, suggest he is backing his own player Kylian Mbappé, now the World Cup's all-time top scorer with 22 goals after this year's edition.

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