Paris Saint-Germain chose to favor their match against Olympique Lyonnais rather than going to the Ballon d’Or ceremony in London. Luis Campos, the club's sports advisor, confirmed that he will attend the Monday evening meeting from the stands of the Parc des Princes, following the example of Marquinhos who also decided to stay in Paris. Thus, PSG will not be represented in the 70th edition of the trophy.
This decision recalls that taken the previous year, when the ceremony was held at the Théâtre du Châtelet and Campos accompanied the Parisian team to the Vélodrome. The choice to stay on the field is part of the logic of priority given to the game, as the club emphasizes. Marquinhos, injured, will not be able to travel to London either, and other players like Ousmane Dembélé, who will be absent from the match, will be expected in England.
Among the 30 Ballon d’Or finalists, several Parisians will stay in Paris. Luis Enrique, Warren Zaire-Emery, Matvey Safonov, Achraf Hakimi, Willian Pacho, Fabian Ruiz, Vitinha, João Neves and Ferran Torres will remain at the Parc des Princes. Nuno Mendes, injured, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who is due to undergo an operation in Qatar, will not travel to London. The presence of Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, president of the club, has not yet been confirmed, although he has been in London since the weekend.
With the PSG-OL clash scheduled for Monday, most of the Parisians nominated for the Ballon d’Or will skip the London ceremony. Luis Campos' decision underlines the priority given to sports competitions over prestigious events. The club is now awaiting final confirmation of the presence of its president and the participation of Nuno Mendes in the festivities.