Former Barcelona defender takes aim at Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe over Ballon d’Or claim: ‘Not up to him’ | OneFootball

Former Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti has taken aim at Kylian Mbappe’s latest Ballon d’Or comments, arguing that the Real Madrid forward should concentrate on performances rather than deciding who deserves football’s biggest individual prize.

Mbappe recently said that, if he had a vote for the Ballon d’Or, he would choose himself. 

Umtiti was asked about those remarks during an appearance on RMC’s ‘After Foot’ (h/t Mundo Deportivo) and questioned whether the player should be involved in determining his own standing in the race.

Umtiti questions Mbappe’s approach

Umtiti acknowledged Mbappe’s confidence but suggested there are limits to how far that self-belief should go when discussing individual awards.

“Mbappe is a self-assured person. You could say it’s not really his place to talk about who deserves the award. 

“He should focus on what happens on the pitch,” said Umtiti.

The former France international then pointed to Mbappe’s impressive numbers while insisting that statistics alone should not settle the debate.

Umtiti has criticised Mbappe for his comments on Ballon d’Or. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

“Everyone has seen that he’s scored lots of goals and performed well at certain times, but if you ask him, ‘Who do you think will win the Ballon d’Or?’, in the end he will tell you that he deserves it. 

“And it’s not up to him to decide the winner.”

Ballon d’Or has lost its meaning

Umtiti’s criticism extended beyond Mbappe. 

The former Barcelona defender also questioned the direction of the Ballon d’Or itself, arguing that the award has become too focused on individual achievement.

“I don’t even watch the ceremony. For strikers, winning the Ballon d’Or is incredible. This ceremony has lost all its meaning. 

“It’s very damaging to football, which is very much a team sport. People think far more about winning the Ballon d’Or than about team awards,” he stated.

For Umtiti, the emphasis on personal statistics has come at the expense of football’s collective nature.

Mbappe has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

“You can win the Champions League with your team and still only think of yourself. 

“Let’s talk about statistics again – and that’s not enough. Football isn’t just about statistics,” continued Umtiti.

Messi-Ronaldo era changed the debate

Umtiti believes the Ballon d’Or conversation was influenced differently during the dominant years of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

“Since the Messi-Ronaldo era, I don’t even look at that trophy anymore. 

“They had incredible statistics, and if they didn’t win a major title, it didn’t really matter because their season was incredible. 

“Now, there isn’t necessarily one great player who stands out above the rest,” he concluded.