William Gallas has effectively ruled Harry Kane out of the Ballon d’Or race following England’s disappointing World Cup campaign.
The Bayern Munich striker remains one of the most prolific goalscorers in world football, but Gallas believes individual numbers alone will not be enough to earn Kane the game’s biggest individual prize. According to the former France international, the World Cup played a major role in changing the conversation,“ Gallas told iPredicta. “Harry Kane didn’t have a great, great World Cup.
Even if he scored goals, his World Cup was not the best. So, forget about Harry Kane winning the Ballon d’Or.
“You have to be focused on players like Lamine Yamal, who I think is the number one because he won the World Cup and his performances were good, despite having an injury at the start.”
It is a brutally dismissive assessment of Kane’s chances, but Gallas is highlighting the importance of the biggest stage. Kane may have continued to deliver in front of goal, but the Ballon d’Or is rarely decided by statistics alone.
As a counterpoint, it could also be strongly argued that Yamal was only the third or fourth best player on his own team at the World Cup. For Gallas, though, Yamal has the strongest case after helping Spain win the World Cup while producing the kind of performances that capture global attention. The young Barcelona star has already established himself as one of the most influential players in the world, and his tournament only strengthened his claim.
Kane will likely remain in the conversation because of his extraordinary goal scoring record. However, if the World Cup is the deciding factor, Gallas believes the Bayern Munich striker has already fallen behind the leading contenders.
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