Former France international Samuel Umtiti has criticised the Ballon d'Or ceremony, arguing that footballers have become too focused on individual recognition rather than team success.
As reported by İdman.Biz, the 2018 World Cup winner made the comments after the announcement of the 30 nominees for the 2026 Ballon d'Or. The winner will be revealed at a ceremony in London on October 26.
Umtiti also reacted to Kylian Mbappe's recent statement that he would give the award to himself.
"He is a confident person. You can say that maybe he should not talk about it and should focus on what happens on the pitch. Everyone has seen that he has scored a lot of goals and played well at certain moments, but if you ask him, 'Who will win the Ballon d'Or?', he will name himself. Whether people like it or not. I don't agree with that," Umtiti told RMC Sport.
The former Barcelona defender added that the award should not automatically favour attacking players.
"Strikers love the Ballon d'Or, but for me it is not necessary that only they win it," he said.
Umtiti was also critical of some of the nominations, questioning the inclusion of Julian Quinones despite his four goals for Mexico at the World Cup.
"When I saw that, I wondered whether it was a joke. Let's be serious. I don't even watch this ceremony anymore," he said.
According to Umtiti, the Ballon d'Or has lost some of its meaning because of the growing focus on personal statistics.
"This ceremony no longer makes sense. It harms football a lot because football is a team sport. Players think much more about winning the Ballon d'Or than about team success. You can win the Champions League with your team, but you will only be thinking about yourself. We are talking about statistics again, and that is not enough. Football is not only about statistics," he added.
Umtiti also said that he stopped following the award after the era dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
"They had incredible statistics, and even if they did not win a major trophy, it was not so important because they had amazing seasons. Now it is not necessary to single out one outstanding player," the Frenchman said.
Umtiti retired from professional football in 2025. During his club career, he represented Lyon, Barcelona, Lecce and Lille. He won two La Liga titles with Barcelona and was part of the France squad that lifted the 2018 World Cup.
