Pascal Ferré reveals Ballon d'Or bribery attempt

Pascal Ferré, the former director of France Football and head of the Ballon d'Or, has revealed details regarding an attempted bribery involving a football agent. In an interview with Marca, Ferré recounted a meeting where an agent representing a nominated player asked if he could ‘sell’ the player's candidacy to the jury.

Ferré refused the request. During the meeting, he briefly stepped away to answer a phone call, and upon his return, the agent had vanished, leaving a mysterious envelope on the table. Ferré did not open the envelope and instead handed it to hotel reception, noting that he never learned its contents.

In his new book, ‘La face cachée du Ballon d’or’, Ferré also shared personal anecdotes about notifying past winners. He described the emotional reaction of Luka Modrić upon learning of his 2018 win and the unexpectedly calm response from Karim Benzema in 2022, who later explained he was unable to react more strongly due to his surroundings at the time.