The race for the Ballon d'Or has heated up, especially after some of the candidates spoke about their entitlement to the prestigious award. Among them is Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal, who faces England and their star Harry Kane next Saturday in the opening round of the UEFA Nations League fixtures.
Kane said it was not in his character to promote himself publicly, as some Ballon d'Or candidates do. Yet he made his desire to win the award, which will be presented on 26 October, perfectly clear.
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The England captain and Bayern Munich star sits among the leading candidates for the award after a season in which he scored 73 goals. Yamal had appeared to criticise Kane's nomination when he insisted the Ballon d'Or should go to "the best player in the world", and not to whoever "scores 80 goals".
Winning the award presented by the French magazine "France Football" would be "a dream", the Spain international said, while Kylian Mbappé, the Real Madrid and France star, also spoke about his desire to win it.
Asked how much some of his rivals had spoken about the award in recent weeks, coinciding with the start of the voting, Kane said: "Everyone has the right to do what they want in this situation".
The former Tottenham star added, in comments reported by the British newspaper "The Standard": "It's obvious the Ballon d'Or has grown more and more in recent years, mainly because of social media, and all this noise, and all the debate around it".
He continued: "For my part, it's not in my character to talk about myself in this way. I'm still very proud of what I did. And in principle, I know that what I achieved last season was on a level with anyone. So I don't want to shy away from that either. But in the end, my mentality is to keep moving forward".
"Difficult timing"
Kane added: "The timing of the Ballon d'Or is difficult, because you're already in a new season, and focusing on what you can achieve in it. And after every match you're asked to talk about what you did last season. So it's hard for me to take that in. But for my part, it would be incredible to win it, and I would be extremely proud".
The Bayern Munich striker went on: "I think I'm certainly in the running to win it, without a doubt. And time will tell, and the voters will vote for whoever they want".
Does it matter whether the other candidates do more or fewer interviews? Kane said: "It has an effect socially and on the debate around the award, certainly. As for the voters themselves, I'm not one hundred percent sure. I think they'll vote for whoever they see as deserving, and they'll have the information and the statistics and they'll decide".
He continued: "For my part, it makes me happier when others talk about me, team-mates or former players, or anyone who praises what I've achieved. That makes me prouder than trying to talk about myself".
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