Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique has picked out Vitinha as the player who deserved a better ranking at the 2026 Ballon d’Or, three days after the Portuguese midfielder finished 14th in the vote.
Vitinha arrived at the London Palladium on October 26 with a strong case: a second consecutive Champions League title, a place in the competition’s team of the season and another year as the metronome of Enrique’s midfield.
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He came out 14th, 11 places down on the third spot he took in 2025, behind teammate Achraf Hakimi in 13th and a long way from Harry Kane, who won the Ballon d’Or ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal.
Asked about the 26-year-old at his pre-match presser at the Campus PSG in Poissy on Thursday (October 29), before Friday’s Ligue 1 trip to bottom club Le Havre, Enrique said (via Goal):
We know him well, so we’re not surprised. It’s a real pleasure to have a player with such technical and physical ability.
He added:
His level is incredible. We’re very pleased to have a player of his calibre, even though he wasn’t ranked as highly as he deserves to be in the Ballon d’Or rankings.
He then added:
He is incredibly talented… he deserves a better ranking in the Ballon d’Or award.
He had little appetite for the wider rankings, telling the same press conference he was glad the conversation about the Ballon d’Or was over.
The Parisians still had plenty to show for the night: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia sixth, Ousmane Dembélé seventh and Fabián Ruiz 10th, with PSG named Club of the Year for the second year running. No PSG player made the top five, 12 months after Dembélé won the award and Vitinha came third.
Vitinha’s numbers across the 2026 Ballon d’Or voting period
The voting window covered his 2025-26 season, and Vitinha’s output was steady rather than spectacular: seven goals and 10 assists in all competitions, close to the eight goals and five assists behind his third place a year earlier.
Europe was where his case was strongest: six goals in 17 games included a hat-trick in the 5-3 league-phase win over Tottenham on November 26, and his 1,589 successful passes were the most in a single season of the competition. In the final against Arsenal, he completed 141 passes, level with Xavi in 2011 for the most in a final since detailed records began in 2003-04.
Portugal’s World Cup counted against him in the voting after his side went out in the round of 16 to eventual tournament winners Spain. PSG take on Le Havre at the Stade Océane on Friday, October 30, where Vitinha is likely to play.
Edited by Vignesh Raja
