Ballon d’Or: When Jose Mourinho Named a Striker Who Should Have Won Prestigious Award

• The Ballon d'Or for 2023 will be announced this evening at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris
• Lionel Messi is again expected to feature but Erling Haaland's 52 goals have him in contention
• Jose Mourinho once questioned why one African star never got his chance at the Ballon d'Or

Awards often leave lingering questions and nostalgic 'what-ifs?'.

The debate around the dominance and legacy of the world's greatest players is measured in Ballon d'Ors but too many outstanding contributions go unacknowledged.

Jose Mourinho once spoke about one instrumental Cameroonian striker that he thought deserved at least one golden ball.

Samuel Eto'o played for Mourinho at Inter Milan, winning Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Champions League in 2010.

He left Barcelona at the end of the previous season where had just completed a La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League Treble, making him the only player to win consecutive Trebles with two different teams.

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In the 2010 Ballon d'Or, Lionel Messi won with just under 23% of the votes and was followed by Barcelona midfielders, Xavi and Andreas Iniesta, in second and third.

Inter Milan had beaten Barcelona in the preceding Champions League final but only Wesley Sneijder was able to crack the top five, with Eto'o down in 12th with just 1.37% of the vote.

BBC Sport published comments made by Mourinho to a Cameroonian radio station, which read:

"Samuel played for the best teams in the best leagues in the world. He scored an incredible amount of goals and was successful in different leagues. He was the best striker in the world for several years and I think he deserved a Ballon d'Or but these are things out of our control."

As well as his domestic honours, Eto'o won the African Cup of Nations twice and is the tournament's all-time leading goalscorer with 18.

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In December 2021, Eto'o was elected to lead the Cameronian Football Federation, a position he still holds today.

Ballon d'Or selection rule changes

Sports Brief recently reported on the rule changes for Ballon d'Or selection criteria.

The award was changed from season to season rather than over a calendar year as before.

Other changes include fewer votes for small member nations and the inclusion of 'specialists'.