{
  "id": 7597344,
  "title": "2026 Ballon d’Or: Diego Simeone picks surprise player to win award",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/2026-ballon-dor-diego-simeone-picks-surprise-player-to-win-award",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-15T17:24:42.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daily Post Nigeria",
    "slug": "daily-post-nigeria",
    "url": "https://dailypost.ng/2026/09/15/2026-ballon-dor-diego-simeone-picks-surprise-player-to-win-award/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Atletico Madrid manager, Diego Simeone, has said Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi deserves to win the 2026 Ballon d’Or. According to Simeone, Messi’s outing at this year’s World Cup is enough to hand him the award. “The 2026 Ballon d’Or has to be Leo Messi. Zero doubts,” Simeone said. “With the World Cup he had at […] 2026 Ballon d’Or: Diego Simeone picks surprise player to win award",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Daily Post Nigeria",
        "title": "Ballon d’Or: ‘He’s ahead’ – Jorge Mendes names player most deserving of 2026 award",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/ballon-dor-hes-ahead-jorge-mendes-names-player-most-deserving-of-2026",
        "published": "2026-09-15T12:58:50.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}