Ballon d'Or 2026: Estéban Lepaul has chosen his favourite

Called up to the France squad for the first time, Estéban Lepaul spoke to the media at a press conference on Tuesday. He was asked about the 2026 Ballon d'Or.

The Rennes striker was asked who should win the Ballon d’Or this year, with the list of contenders a long one. The former Epinal and Angers player ventured to name his preference, and ideally, he would like to see a Frenchman win it, with Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise all having strong cases. “For the Ballon d’Or, I can hope that a Frenchman wins it and that we celebrate it together. May the French continue to be at the top and may we have the best footballers,” he said.

On the other hand, the Stade Rennais forward was delighted with how he had settled into the France squad. “The arrival went very well. (Fabien) Barthez was the first person I saw, then I saw the players arrive one by one. The former Lyon players I trained with, then a few former Rennes players. As for the song, everything was under control and everything went very well for me,” Estéban Lepaul said.

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Joshua SOSSOU

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As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.

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