{
  "id": 4224752,
  "title": "Mourinho says Mbappe worthy of Ballon d’Or",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/mourinho-says-mbappe-worthy-of-ballon-dor-4224752",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-29T14:45:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Citizen",
    "slug": "the-citizen",
    "url": "https://www.citizen.co.za/sport/soccer/world-soccer/mourinho-says-mbappe-worthy-of-ballon-dor/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho expressed his belief that Kylian Mbappe deserves to win this year's Ballon d’Or, arguing that the award should be given to the \"best player in the world\" rather than being influenced by World Cup or Champions League success. During a Saturday press conference ahead of Madrid's match against Malaga in La Liga, Mourinho stated that there are \"two, three or four\" best players in the world, referring to Mbappe as one who \"made history this summer\" by becoming the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history during the tournament. Despite not winning any major trophies, Mbappe has been among the contenders for the prestigious award due to his outstanding performances, including a hat-trick in Wednesday's 4-1 victory over Real Sociedad. Mourinho differentiated the Ballon d’Or from other accolades by emphasizing that the award should be bestowed upon players whose contributions \"will be missed forever,\" mentioning legends like Maradona, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo Nazario, Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, and Zidane.",
  "summary": "\"The best players in the world, there are two, three or four of them, and we know who they are: they're here,\" Mourinho told reporters.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Mourinho says Mbappe worthy of Ballon d’Or",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/mourinho-says-mbappe-worthy-of-ballon-dor-4202338",
        "published": "2026-08-29T12:55:10.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Indian Express",
        "title": "‘If politics gets involved, I do not like that’: Jose Mourinho on Ballon d’Or",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/if-politics-gets-involved-i-do-not-like-that-jose-mourinho-on-ballon",
        "published": "2026-08-29T13:09:42.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "Mourinho says Mbappe worthy of Ballon d'Or",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/mourinho-says-mbappe-worthy-of-ballon-dor",
        "published": "2026-08-29T13:14:05.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Punch",
        "title": "Mourinho questions Ballon d’Or criteria, says trophies shouldn’t decide winner",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/mourinho-questions-ballon-dor-criteria-says-trophies-shouldnt-decide",
        "published": "2026-08-29T15:08:16.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}