José Mourinho has thrown the question of the world's best player back into the spotlight with his latest comments.
Quizzed on the Ballon d'Or in a press conference, the Real Madrid coach did exactly what you would expect: he backed his own players over those of Paris Saint-Germain or the Spanish national team.
Mourinho started with a jab: "You cannot give the Ballon d'Or to a player simply because he won the Champions League or because he won the World Cup."
The Portuguese then went further. "The best player in the world is not necessarily from Paris Saint-Germain or from the Spanish national team. There are two, three or four players who can be considered the best player in the world, and we know who they are and we know where they are. They are here. We also know who the player is who individually made history this summer."
Politics, he suggested, muddies the whole thing. "As for the Ballon d'Or, it is also something perhaps governed by politics. And when politics enters into the matter, I do not like that very much."
According to the Defensa Central network, Mourinho's stance chimes with plenty of Real Madrid supporters, and with a few of the club's former players too.
Pepe echoed the same line. The Royal club legend saw his name linked over the summer with a move onto Mourinho's coaching staff.
This time, the former Portuguese defender took on a quick test: ranking a handful of players against one another.
His verdict was Vinícius Júnior at the top, though he placed the Brazilian on a par with Kylian Mbappé.
"Vinícius is better than Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Haaland, and I place him at the same level as Mbappé," he said.
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