In Liverpool, where Víctor Muñoz is now continuing his career, the Ballon d’Or conversation has reached beyond club loyalties and into Spain’s changing football landscape. The award is due to be presented in London on 26 October, with Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappé and Harry Kane widely viewed as the leading three contenders.
Muñoz has made his preference clear, even though it means overlooking Mbappé, his former team-mate last season. The winger would choose Spain colleague Yamal for the individual prize.
Quick facts
- The Ballon d’Or ceremony is scheduled for London on 26 October.
- Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappé and Harry Kane are considered the principal contenders.
- Víctor Muñoz would vote for Yamal.
- Muñoz played alongside Mbappé last season.
- The Liverpool player developed in the youth systems of both Barcelona and Real Madrid.
“I would give it to Lamine,” Muñoz said. “He is my team-mate with the national side and I believe he has done enough to win it. Whoever receives it will deserve it, but Lamine would be my choice.”
The stance may draw attention given Muñoz’s Real Madrid background, but his football education also began briefly at Barcelona when he was very young. He said both academies left a distinct mark on his game.
Barcelona taught him the importance of combination play, as well as the methodology and identity instilled in the club’s young players. Madrid, he explained, offered a more direct style, one that suited his own attributes.
“Both are exceptional and I was able to take the best from each,” Muñoz said. “At Barcelona I was very young, but it helped me learn associative football and bring their methodology and DNA into my game. Madrid is a different, more direct type of football, and that benefited me because of my qualities. I am grateful to have been at both.”
