Now that the list of players nominated for the Ballon d’Or has been announced by France Football, it’s time to see if anyone has it in them to mess up the Cristiano Ronaldo-Lionel Messi monopoly.
With two months left, we might see some more ‘selfish’ performances by certain players, including Antoine Griezmann, whose dream it is to win the award.
Another nominated France international was Paul Pogba, whose status with the national team changed considerably during the World Cup, with his issues at Manchester United becoming a bit of a side note during the competition.
Taking charge in the dressing room with rousing speeches, the midfielder showed a side many hadn’t seen before, which gave (false) hope for the Old Trafford faithful that he would continue in the same vein once he returned to the north of England.
In fact, even Antoine Griezmann, one of his closest friends, was surprised to see Pogba take charge in the way he did.
He told France Football: “If you look at the documentary, you’ll see he never looks at me when he made his speeches, and I had my head down. He makes me laugh. Normally, he just messes around, he laughs, he dances. When he’s serious, it makes me laugh. If he sees me, he would smile and laugh.”
Laughter aside, Griezmann knew Pogba did have it in him. It was just a matter of time before it came out.
He continued: “That’s how he is. He’s always had the right word. After that, he needed to let go and open up to the dressing room. It’s complicated to talk to a dressing room. He has this voice. He knows how to speak, to motivate you. I knew he was like that, but it’s true that he opened up more during the World Cup.”
