{
  "id": 4257366,
  "title": "Jose Mourinho wants Ballon d’Or rules turned upside down with radical new award idea",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/jose-mourinho-wants-ballon-dor-rules-turned-upside-down-with-radical",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-29T19:06:55.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/jose-mourinho-wants-ballon-d-190655144.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Jose Mourinho, the Real Madrid manager, has been advocating for a significant change in the way the prestigious Ballon d’Or award is decided. The tactician believes the current system, which heavily favors players based on their major accomplishments like winning the Champions League or the World Cup, is not ideal. In his view, the Ballon d’Or should go to the player who remains memorable for eternity, rather than just those who lift the biggest trophies.\n\nMourinho pointed out that players like Maradona, Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, R9, and Zidane deserve the award because they remain eternally missed when they retire. He argued that simply winning the UCL or the World Cup should not be enough to earn the Ballon d’Or. Instead, the award should go to one of the best three to four players in the world, irrespective of their nationality or club.\n\nHowever, Mourinho also acknowledged that politics often play a role in the voting process, which he does not appreciate. Despite this, he has thrown his support behind Kylian Mbappe. The young Frenchman has been exceptional this summer, scoring ten goals in eight appearances at the World Cup, becoming the first player to achieve double figures in a single edition this century, and winning the La Liga Golden Boot and the most goals in the Champions League last season.\n\nMourinho believes that Mbappe, along with Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham, is among the true greats in world football. However, the pressure on Mourinho is immense, as Real Madrid have not won a trophy in the last two seasons, a fact that complicates his case for the Ballon d’Or.",
  "summary": "Jose Mourinho has called for a rethink on the Ballon d’Or. The Real Madrid boss says the award should go to players remembered for eternity, not just those who lift the biggest trophies.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "🎥 Favourite for the Ballon d'Or? Mourinho is clear 🤨",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/favourite-for-the-ballon-dor-mourinho-is-clear",
        "published": "2026-08-29T10:13:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}