Bixente Lizarazu is delighted with a “very collective” Ballon d’Or after Harry Kane’s coronation, “a good message”, according to the former world champion

Monday evening, Harry Kane was crowned best footballer of the year. The British striker from Bayern Munich has overtaken Kylian Mbappé who campaigned to obtain the precious Ballon d'Or. Bixente Lizarazu, franceinfo football consultant, returns to the ceremony on Tuesday October 27 and analyzes what tilted the trend more towards Harry Kane.

franceinfo: So it's still not this year, for Kylian Mbappé, guilty or not, according to you, of having shouted too much from the rooftops that he absolutely wanted this Ballon d'Or?

Bixente Lizarazu: Guilty, we must not exaggerate either. It was a little annoying, in fact, to shout it from the rooftops and assert it like that. But I don't think that was a criterion for those who voted. They did it as objectively as possible. It's not always easy on a Ballon d'Or, because there is a feeling. Kylian Mbappé has been a prolific scorer. He was the top scorer in the Champions League, the World Cup and the Spanish championship. But Harry Kane, in terms of goals, is the one who has scored the most in all competitions. So he did even better in terms of statistics than Kylian Mbappé. I would say Harry Kane had more impact in the game too. It's very important.

“He’s not just a scorer, he’s very important from a collective point of view.”

Bixente Lizarazu, football consultant at franceinfo

It is also very important for playing the game. It represents a form of altruism and collective spirit. And deep down, for me, it's still a satisfaction that this Ballon d'Or is a very collective Ballon d'Or because we have a player who is eminently collective in a football which is becoming more and more individualistic, I think it's a good message. From this point of view, I like this Ballon d'or.

The Ballon d'Or alone symbolizes the hyper individualization of a team sport all the same. Moreover, your former teammate, also 98 world champion, Robert Pirès, even speaks of the Golden Ball as the poison of current football because it precisely exacerbates individualities. Do you agree?

Yes it's quite dangerous. So we live in an era where players are judged on statistics on the number of ball recoveries they make, the number of goals… What I saw yesterday was Luis de La Fuente rewarded. He is the coach of Spain, world champion, at the head of an eminently collective team. Paris Saint-Germain was rewarded as the best club team, an eminently collective team. There was Dembele or Kvaratskhelia who could have claimed something from this Golden Ball. In all the prizes awarded, not just that of the best player, there is a return to the collective, while we are in an extremely individualistic period. Perhaps this term of poison used by Robert is interesting but it is up to us to promote the collective. And fortunately there are coaches who do it very well.