Zambian and BolaNews journalist Calvin Kaumba Chikenge has explained his decision to rank French forward Kylian Mbappé ahead of Harry Kane in his Ballon d’Or voting, arguing that the Real Madrid star’s achievements during the season deserved greater recognition.
Chikenge, who represents Zambia in the Ballon d’Or voting process, placed Mbappé first, followed by Bayern Munich forward Michael Olise in second place, Kane third and Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal fourth.
Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia completed his top five, while Rodri, Ousmane Dembélé, Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi and Jude Bellingham occupied the remaining positions.
Explaining his decision to place Mbappé at the top, Chikenge said the Frenchman’s goalscoring achievements across three major competitions deserved recognition.
“Kylian Mbappé’s achievements that season deserved recognition. Being the top scorer in three major competitions was no mean feat. Had it been Messi or Ronaldo, there would have been no debate. However, I respect Kane. He is also a good footballer, and congratulations to him the majority won, but if I were to vote again in this edition, I wouldn’t change the ranking,” he said.
Why Olise ahead of Yamal and Kane?
Chikenge also defended his decision to rank Olise ahead of Yamal, describing the Bayern Munich winger as an exceptional player whose performances warranted a higher position.
“Olise is an exceptional player. He was named Bayern Munich Player of the Season and Bundesliga Player of the Season ahead of his teammate Kane. In my opinion, he was better than Lamine and Kane in both the Champions League and at the World Cup,” he added.
The Zambian journalist admitted that deciding how to rank the leading contenders was particularly difficult, given the quality of the players involved.
“As I said earlier, it was the most difficult decision to make. I found myself debating alone over who to place first because, honestly, if it were possible to give each of them their own ball’ Or, I would have done so,” Chikenge said.
Meanwhile, Kane won the Ballon d’Or with 1,055 points, finishing ahead of second-placed Mbappé, who garnered 1,027 points, while Yamal came third with 881 points.
