Before leaving for the United States to face the American preseason, Carlo Ancelotti, the Italian coach of Real Madrid and who was strongly linked with managing the Seleção at the time, met with a former player of his at Chelsea, John Obi Mikel, at the Real Madrid training city.
The 37-year-old Nigerian, who retired in 2022, has been very active on the internet in recent years after starting a podcast called “ The Obi One Podcast ”, a platform in which he has managed to interview coaches, former footballers, football legends and football colleagues and the last to pass through his microphones was Carletto Ancelotti, who was his coach at Chelsea.
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Ancelotti’s thoughts on the Ballon d’Or: “I don’t think it’s that important, ask the player what he’d rather win: the BdO or the UCL?”
After a long chat about his various stints on the most important teams in the old continent, John Obi Mikel took the opportunity to touch on a topic that is always a hot topic in the international press: the Ballon d’Or.
🏆 BALLON D’OR PICK@MrAncelotti has his say on the race for this year’s Ballon d’Or…
Carvajal❓
Rodri❓
Bellingham❓
Vini Jnr❓📺 Catch the full interview with Don Carlo on our YouTube channel now! https://t.co/sOJzwwfTSB pic.twitter.com/xU2V4PpNWW
— The Obi One Podcast (@obionepodcast) August 1, 2024
The Nigerian asked Carlo Ancelotti about his favourite to win the award, as Vinicius, Bellingham and Carvajal have all deserved to win it, but the Italian said that, in his opinion, the one who should win it is Vinicius:
“(On the Ballon d’Or) Who do I think will win it? In my opinion, Vinicius should win it. He is a very talented player, he did very well last season. But it is true that Carvajal also did very well, Carvajal won LaLiga, the UEFA Champions League scoring in the final and won the Euro Cup. But Vinicius is a very talented player, young, he left an excellent image, but he can improve in this. He won LaLiga and won the Champions League scoring in the final and the semi-final,” explained Carletto.
“Jude, for his part, had a spectacular season, winning the Champions League and La Liga, a big surprise, being the best player in the league.”
However, Ancelotti wanted to leave a reflection on the Ballon d’Or, stating that, for him, the individual award is not the most important thing and that surely his players will think the same:
“I think that this (the Ballon d’Or) is not the most important thing. It is an important individual trophy, of course, but for me it is a curiosity. For the player it is very important, but try to interview the players and ask them: ‘Would you rather win the Champions League or the Ballon d’Or?’. The Champions League, obviously,” concluded the Italian, who continued answering the questions of this interesting interview.
The full episode of John Obi Mikel’s podcast
- In the podcast, Carlo Ancelotti was interviewed by John Obi Mikel and Chris McHardy;
- The Italian spoke about his life in Madrid, the arrival of Mbappé, Bellingham’s adaptation to Spanish football and various topics related to his extensive career in elite coaching;
- He was also asked about the Ballon d’Or debate, as three of his players are seen as the big favourites to win it;
- Carlo, faithful to what he has said throughout the season, said that his favorite to win the award is the Brazilian Vinicius Jr.
