French international tried to buy Ballon d'Or, reveals ex-France Football director

A France national team player once asked Pascal Ferré how much it would cost to buy the Ballon d’Or. The former director of France Football (until 2022) lifts the veil on this approach in his book The Hidden Face of the Ballon d’Or, published by Albin Michel.

Ferré does not reveal the player’s identity, but specifies that it is a French international “who has never appeared in the” nomination lists. The approach was, according to him, far from trivial: “You understand me well, Pascal. How much would it cost me to buy the final victory?”, the player allegedly insisted. He also claimed he could activate contacts in the press: “I know several journalists to whom I could pass the message to select me on the list.”

The former magazine boss, however, tempers the significance of these remarks. He believes the player was primarily seeking to “explore all possible loopholes, not to act on them, but rather to ensure the inviolability of the prize”. No concrete financial offer was ultimately made.

Ferré recounts having answered the question — “If someone had offered you a huge sum, what would you have done?” — with a direct analogy: the same thing as you if someone had offered you a fortune to ease off in a match.

These revelations come days before the 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony, with the winner to be announced next Monday in London. Kylian Mbappé is among the French contenders, alongside Ousmane Dembélé, the defending champion, in a list of favorites that also includes Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane, Rodri, Michael Olise and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.