The Golden Ball isn’t decided solely on the field. The campaigns, the connections, and the work of the agents surrounding the nominees are also part of the history of this famous award. Pascal Ferré, former director of “France Football” and head of the Ballon d’Or, revealed in an interview with “Marca” a particularly striking episode he experienced during his tenure.
Féré recalls a meeting with an agent representing a soccer player nominated for the Ballon d’Or. The agent came to see him to discuss his client’s strengths and try to convince him to support his nomination:
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“Yes, it’s true. A manager wanted to meet with me. His player, of course, was a nominee. After explaining and praising his achievements, he asked me if he could ‘sell’ his nomination to the selection committee,” he emphasized.
However, the former head of the award refused to intervene on the player’s behalf. And the situation took an unexpected turn immediately afterward. Fere had to step away for a few minutes to answer a phone call. When he returned, the police officer had already left and left an envelope on the table. He decided not to open it.
“Then I had to step away for a moment to take a phone call. When I returned, the agent had already left. However, there was an envelope on the table. I picked it up and handed it to the receptionist. I don’t know what was inside,” he told *Marca*.
That was the end of the incident. The former director of “France Football” and head of the Ballon d’Or went on to explain that he met with that agent several times after that day, but they never spoke about the envelope again. “He never told me what was inside,” Ferret explained when recalling this episode.
And that is precisely one of the great mysteries of the story. No one knows what was in that envelope. Similarly, the identities of the agent and the soccer player were never revealed, although according to reports covering the same incident, all signs point to the player, according to the report in question, having played in the Premier League and ultimately never having won the Ballon d’Or.
Fere’s story demonstrates once again the scale that campaigns surrounding the award can reach. The Ballon d’Or is decided by the votes of a panel of judges, but the battle for support begins much earlier and can even take place off the field. In this case, one unanswered question remains: What was inside that mysterious envelope?
*photo source: AP
