Courtois names Mbappé favourite and leaves Bayern star Olise out

Thibaut Courtois mentioned three candidates for this year's Ballon d’Or in an interview with Radioestadio Noche: He sees Kylian Mbappé as the favourite, mentions Lamine Yamal from FC Barcelona and Harry Kane from Bayern Munich, but leaves Michael Olise out.

The Belgian goalkeeper of Real Madrid explained that he could name only three players who, in his opinion, play a role in the race for the award.

"Mbappé and Lamine are great. Kane will also have a say. This year the race is very close. For me, Mbappé is the favourite," said Courtois.

He thus highlighted his teammate Mbappé, also praised Lamine Yamal and the Bayern striker Harry Kane, while Olise was not among the nominations.

Mbappé rushed for the Ballon d’Or, Courtois stays at Valdebebas

Michael Olise, the winger of Bayern Munich, had recently scored the winning goal for France against Belgium, but was not mentioned by Courtois.

Criteria and Criticism from Courtois

Courtois emphasized that team successes should not push individual performances into the background. "The Ballon d’Or should also honour the best footballer of the year. It's not solely about trophies," he explained.

He referred to the example of Dani Carvajal and noted that his teammate could have received the award three years ago if the selection had been more dependent on team successes.

This year's Ballon d’Or winner will be announced on October 26 at the awards ceremony in London.