Eberl Responds to Yamal, Elevates Olise in Ballon d'Or Discussion

Bayern Munich’s 7-0 thrashing of Union Berlin didn’t just light up the Bundesliga scoreboard. It lit a fuse under the Ballon d’Or debate.

In the mixed zone after the rout, sporting director Max Eberl was asked about recent comments from Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal on how the award should be judged. The Bayern chief needed only one line to send a pointed response in the youngster’s direction.

“The best players are those who do not need a promotional campaign,” Eberl said, a clear reference to the noise surrounding Yamal’s candidacy.

The exchange, reported by Spanish newspaper AS, comes after Yamal had outlined his own criteria for the prize in an interview with Movistar Plus. The Barça star argued that the Ballon d’Or should go to “the best player in the world, nothing more,” and not simply to “a player who scored 80 goals,” insisting that such numbers should be recognised with a top-scorer award instead. For him, the two accolades are “completely different,” a distinction he believes “people don’t understand.”

Bayern, of course, have their own goal machine in Harry Kane, whose scoring exploits are frequently cited by club officials when his Ballon d’Or chances are discussed. Yamal’s remarks cut directly across that narrative. Eberl’s reply did the rest.

The Bayern director didn’t just push back at the idea of campaigns. He used the moment to champion one of his own emerging stars: Michael Olise. The Frenchman had just torn Union Berlin apart with a hat-trick, and Eberl wasted no time in elevating his status in the global conversation.

“For me, Michael Olise is also a candidate for the Ballon d’Or. He is one of the best players in the world,” he declared, fresh from watching Bayern dismantle the visitors from the capital.

So the lines are drawn. On one side, a Barcelona talent arguing that pure footballing superiority, not goal tallies, should define the Ballon d’Or. On the other, a Bayern hierarchy that insists true greats don’t need hype – and that a hat-trick hero like Olise belongs in the same breath as the game’s biggest names.

The award will be handed out later. The campaigning, pointed or not, has already started.