Mourinho makes an unexpected pick for Ballon d'Or frontrunner

The 2024/2025 season has come to an end, and that means it's time to kick off the debate about who will claim the Ballon d'Or. Fenerbahce head coach José Mourinho has entered the conversation, making a rather surprising choice for his favorite.

Details: In an interview with Canal 11, Mourinho expressed his view that the individual award should be directly linked to team titles, effectively ruling out Lamine Yamal from contention. But instead of backing Ousmane Dembélé, as many do, he singled out two of Dembélé's PSG teammates: Vitinha and Nuno Mendes.

• See also: Mourinho believes Ratcliffe lacks football experience and wishes Amorim success

Quote: "Football is a team game. We can talk all we want about players and coaches being special, but for me, individual trophies should be tied to team achievements.

I love them both. I can't even single one out. I'd like to see one of them win it. Although Jorge Mendes will be mad at me, because he thinks his player—Yamal—should take the trophy," Mourinho said.