Ballon d'Or 2026: Acherchour denounces Olise's ninth-place finish as "the most underrated"

Michael Olise finished ninth in the 2026 Ballon d’Or, an edition won by his Bayern Munich teammate Harry Kane. A ranking that does not sit well with consultant Walid Acherchour, who believes the French international was significantly underrated by the voters.

“I find his Ballon d’Or ranking very undervalued. I’m trying to find an explanation,” Acherchour said. The former Crystal Palace player had nonetheless enjoyed a remarkable season: Champions League semi-final with Bayern — with notable performances in Madrid and at Parc des Princes — and a convincing start to the World Cup with the French national team.

The consultant acknowledges the legitimacy of Kane’s award, but does not understand the scale of the gap between the two Bavarian partners. “Kane Ballon d’Or, why not. But for him to be number one and Michael Olise ninth, there’s something that escapes me. Kane scores 72 goals, but the other provides 150 assists,” he pointed out, noting that both players experienced a similar early exit at the World Cup, eliminated after the group stage against Sweden.

Acherchour goes further and questions whether extra-sporting factors may have influenced the votes. “Is it his behavior, is it his nonchalant side… How do the voters arrive at this, how is he so far behind his deputy. I can’t sleep at night over it. There’s a problem. I think it’s the most underrated ranking.”

The debate takes place in a broader context: Acherchour had also mentioned Désiré Doué, in great form at the start of the season, as a future contender for the trophy, before recalling that Olise himself had also delivered an exceptional international gathering with the Blues. The question of voter perception regarding the Franco-British attacking midfielder remains, for now, unanswered.