French football stars Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele have been heavily criticized by the English media for a lack of respect for Harry Kane. The pair refused to stand up to congratulate the striker shortly before he lifted the most prestigious individual award in football - the – – – “Ballon d'Or“.
After the triumph, the modest goalscorer posted an inspiring message: “Work hard in silence. Let success be your noise.“
Ahead of the glitzy event at the London Palladium, Real Madrid star Mbappe exuded confidence, saying he always considered himself the best player on the planet and hoped this year would be his.
Crisis footage from the crowd showed the moment Kane, 33, leaned over to congratulate Mbappe and Paris Saint-Germain winger Dembele. Both France internationals remained seated, with Mbappe even looking away before the England captain caught his eye. Later, when Kane was announced the winner, the Madrid striker again failed to stand up to applaud him.
Organisers revealed that the battle for first place was extremely close. The Englishman edged out Mbappe by less than 41 points – a much more dramatic margin than the 2024 race between Rodri and Vinicius Junior. The full results of the vote will be officially published on Saturday, October 31. Last year's winner Dembele finished seventh in the standings, behind Lamine Yamal, Rodri, Lionel Messi and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
According to information from the French media outlet RMS, the tension in the hall was also heightened by a number of organizational blunders. Dembele was forced to wait an hour at his hotel before leaving for the hall, where refreshments and proper enclosures were lacking upon arrival. The ceremony was delayed, and after it ended, the Frenchman complained about a 30-minute delay due to the inability of the cars to reach the red carpet for the VIP guests.
Comments also appeared in France that the European club champion Paris Saint-Germain had ruined its own chances for the trophy due to the scattering of votes among its many nominated competitors. As many as nine representatives of the Parisians made it into the top 30, including Dembele, Kvaratskhelia, Achraf Hakimi, Vitinha, Ferran Torres, Joao Neves, Willian Pacho, Nuno Mendes and Marquinhos.