The Ballon d'Or, which will be awarded on Monday, November 29, is one of the best kept secrets in the world of football.
This does not prevent conjectures, speculations, bets… or crushes.
And this year, according to an Odoxa poll for RTL, the French would gladly give it to Kylian Mbappé.
Even if he is very far from being among the favorites, the PSG striker undoubtedly benefits from his recent performances and his growing aura. So much so that he won 37% of the vote ahead of his compatriot from Real Madrid Karim Benzema (12%), the essential Cristiano Ronaldo, who tries to keep Manchester United and the Portuguese selection afloat (10%) and a trio composed Bayern Munich serial scorer Robert Lewandowski, Chelsea's tireless midfielder N'Golo Kanté and six-time Ballon d'Or Lionel Messi, half Barcelona, half Parisian in 2021 (9%).
[#BallondOr] Milik on the Ballon d'Or💬
“Lewandowski deserves the Ballon d'Or.
I do not understand how it could escape him.
Last year, France Football did not award the trophy and over the last 2 seasons, he was the best and won a lot.
»
(@PVSportFR) pic.twitter.com/5fDIcWiwBz
- Footballogue⭐️⭐️ (@Footballogue) November 26, 2021
Two-thirds of fans are interested in the Ballon d'Or
On the other hand, football fans, more realistic than purely sentimental, vote Lewandowski and his 64 goals already scored this year (28%), ahead of Benzema, back in favor with the French team (21%), and the duo N ' Golo Kanté and Kylian Mbappé (14%). We will soon know if they got it right when the choice of the electoral college was revealed, made up of 180 journalists each representing a country. In any case, the presentation of this award, born in 1956, continues to interest two thirds of fans, almost half of simple amateurs and one in four French people.
If the majority of respondents (54%) believe, however, that it has lost its luster, amateurs and football fans (60%) consider that it is still as prestigious as in the past. While tackling his propensity to crown offensive players too often (78%) and favor the prize list over pure individual performance (71%).
For 55 years, only four French players have managed to lift the trophy.
Raymond Kopa in 1958, Michel Platini in 1983, 1984 and 1985, Jean-Pierre Papin in 1991 and Zinédine Zidane in 1998. Among them, the French and football fans believe that the best is the 98 world champion (51% and 59%).
The Marseillais, whose name buzzes to train PSG, is ahead of Michel Platini (24% and 21%), Raymond Kopa (13% and 12%) and Jean-Pierre Papin (8% and 8%).
Even the generations who have known Platini prefer Zidane (51% - 30% among 35-49 year olds and 43% - 34% among 50-64 year olds) ...
Survey carried out on 23 and 24 November on a sample of 1,005 people aged 18 and over, including 425 football fans.
