It could backfire! Ex-France Football chief Ferré warns Mbappé over Ballon d'Or media campaign

Pascal Ferré, the former editor-in-chief of France Football and longtime overseer of the Ballon d'Or, has suggested that Kylian Mbappé's intense media campaign for the award could backfire.

Details: Ferré noted that the public does not vote for the Ballon d'Or, the jurors do, and hinted that, having stayed in contact with them, he does not feel the campaign received an extraordinary response.

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In recent weeks Mbappé has embarked on an unprecedented PR offensive, giving interviews across languages and continents and openly declaring that this could finally be his year to lift the golden ball. The Real Madrid and France star has never won the award, and his determination to present himself as the chosen one and the favourite has been impossible to miss. But Ferré, who spent years at the heart of the Ballon d'Or machinery, knows better than anyone how jurors think, and his warning is blunt: overplaying the campaign card can irritate the very people who hold the votes. It is not the first alarm bell either, after earlier reports claimed the PR push was already having more of a negative than a positive effect on his chances.

It's worth noting that the timing could hardly be more delicate for Mbappé. The 27 year old is currently recovering from a knee injury suffered while scoring in Zinedine Zidane's first match in charge of France, with tests showing he barely avoided surgery, and he is expected back around Real Madrid's clash with Villarreal on October 10. The Ballon d'Or ceremony is approaching fast, and instead of his on pitch brilliance doing the talking, the narrative around his candidacy is increasingly dominated by questions about the campaign itself. Ferré's words will not reassure anyone in the Mbappé camp.

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