The man who runs the Ballon d’Or thinks Paris Saint-Germain has itself to blame for being shut out of the top five.

Vincent Garcia, editor-in-chief of France Football, told L’Équipe that PSG’s campaigning for its players had been muddled from the start.

“PSG’s communication was perhaps not very clear, trying to highlight three players, then two,” Garcia said, according to Get French Football News.

In his view the Champions League holders should have thrown everything behind one player, and that player was Ousmane Dembélé, who went into Monday night as the reigning winner.

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PSG shut out of the top five

Harry Kane claimed his first Ballon d’Or at the Palladium Theatre in London on 26 October, with Kylian Mbappé second, Lamine Yamal third, Rodri fourth and Lionel Messi fifth.

PSG placed three nominees in the top 10 and none higher than sixth. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia finished sixth, Dembélé seventh and Fabian Ruiz tenth.

Kvaratskhelia missed the ceremony

Kvaratskhelia did not travel to London. The Georgia winger ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee during PSG’s 4-2 Champions League win over Barcelona last weekend, and was due in Doha for surgery at the start of this week.

He risks missing the rest of the 2026/27 season.

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Praise for Mbappé’s campaign

Garcia had praise for the man who finished second behind Kane.

“Mbappé ran a very good campaign because he was able to explain things well and really get the message across to people, including the judges,” Garcia told L’Équipe.

Dembélé’s defence of the award ended in seventh.

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