Who will succeed Croatia's Luka Modric on the list of the France Football Ballon d'Or? The suspense will end Monday night at the Théâtre du Châtelet where will be awarded the trophy for the best footballer of the year. If Messi or Ronaldo still serve as a favorite, the surprise could come from a Liverpool player, like Sadio Mané or Virgil Van Dijk, winners of the Champions League and authors of a breathtaking season. On the other hand, no trace of the French players, very far from claiming the title. Only four players are named this season: Kylian Mbappé, Karim Benzema, Hugo Lloris and Antoine Griezmann. Why this disfavor, just one year after the title of world champion? The guests of Lionel Rosso debate in Europe 1 Sport.
There is nothing to be shocked about
But this is not a surprise. If no French player could win the 2018 Ballon d'Or, year of world championship, why would they get there in 2019, where the Blues are few enough to have shone? However, two players could have stood out, according to Laurent Jaoui. Attackers Kylian Mbappé and Karim Benzema, who met Tuesday night in the Champions League at Real Madrid - Paris Saint-Germain (2-2), are indeed favored by "this kind of reward that favors the offensive jewels", reminds the journalist of Canal +. But the absence of a major title in club will obligatorily serve them.
Moreover, Arnaud Hermant "is not shocked" that a French is not in a position to win this trophy, unlike last year. The journalist of the daily L'Equipe vote Mané, "who had a big season". You have to be "lucid," says Amber Godillon, Yahoo! Sports . "The odd years, took the Golden Ball by the prism of the Champions League Benzema or Mbappé took slaps in the competition queen".
Benzema best french?
There remains an anecdotal title, that of best French ranking. For Laurent Jaoui, without hesitation, it must be Karim Benzema, because "it's not nothing to be regular for 11 years at Real Madrid, each time registering more than 20 goals". Such consistency has allowed the former international "to oust over the years competitors who were not painters," said the journalist Canal +, referring to Gonzalo Higuain or Ruud van Nistelrooy.
A view shared by Arnaud Hermant given the profile of the other three competitors, although he does not really appreciate the man. "It should be blind or bad faith not to like the footballer," he admits. "But I do not like what he releases, what he has shown in the past." This is not the case of Amber Godillon, also seduced this season by Benzema, who has "nothing to blame him, he displays an exemplary behavior in Madrid." "It is only in France that we draw the portrait," laments the reporter Yahoo! Sports .
Mbappé, an ode in the future
But the striker Real could still be preceded by his young counterpart of Paris Saint-Germain, because "the journalists who vote tend to register in the future," says Laurent Jaoui. This would give an advantage to Kylian Mbappé, natural candidate for the Ballon d'Or in the coming years. But it would require for that "that he signs in a big club like Real Madrid, and not to stay in a club with the limited development", according to the journalist of Canal Plus. "Ligue 1 is not bright enough to be seen."
The physical glitches at the beginning of the season did not help him either. "He is not in a good phase because of his big muscle injury," admits Arnaud Hermant. He lacks success and it creates "a frustration that is such that he wants to play alone". No doubt he also wants to blame Michel Platini, triple winner of the Ballon d'Or, who said Mbappé "that it is not enough to run fast to play football." A spike "that does not summarize its qualities football, "concludes Ambre Godillon.