"They tried to convince me to vote against Achraf Hakimi"

Jury member Mustapha Badri claims he was pressured to vote against Hakimi for the 2026 Ballon d'Or, ranking the PSG defender first despite attempts to influence him.

Mustapha Badri, a member of the international jury for the 2026 Ballon d'Or, has revealed that he ranked PSG defender Achraf Hakimi at the top of his voting list but faced pressure to change his vote. In an interview with Africafoot, Badri stated: "They tried to convince me to vote against him." He claims that several people contacted him attempting to influence his decision in favour of another player, whose name he declined to disclose. Despite these efforts, Badri maintained his ranking, with Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal appearing second and third on his list.

Badri described the situation as part of a broader pattern of influence attempts targeting voters. "There are groups of influence seeking to contact journalists and sway their decisions. I experienced this myself but did not fall into that trap. It is a form of conspiracy," he said. These allegations emerge shortly after Amaury Group, the parent company of France Football magazine, announced it had filed a complaint regarding suspected fraudulent betting following a possible leak of Ballon d'Or results.