Ballon d'or: l'étonnante tentative de corruption envers un journaliste, contacté pour promouvoir la candidature de...
While voting for the next Ballon d'Or, whose identity will be announced on September 22, has closed, the journalist representing Australia has revealed that he received an email from a communications agency offering to promote Ousmane Dembélé's candidacy, in exchange for payment. The agency, which has no established connection with the player or PSG, has not denied the facts and has offered a ludicrous justification.
Only a few days remain before Rodri's successor is revealed. Barring a major upset, the Ballon d'Or will be awarded on Monday, September 22nd, during a ceremony at the Théâtre du Châtelet, to Ousmane Dembélé or Lamine Yamal, the two big favorites for football's most prestigious individual award. The thirty nominated players were decided by a jury of 100 journalists, with each country in the top 100 of the FIFA rankings having a voting journalist. And while the votes are now closed, the representative of Australia made some astonishing revelations a few days ago.
"Three tweets a week for a month in favor of his recognition"
On September 12, Neal Gardner published on his X account (formerly Twitter) a screenshot of an email he received from a communications agency offering him... to promote Ousmane Dembélé's candidacy, in exchange for payment.
"We are planning a month-long campaign to spark dialogue and strengthen the narrative around Ousmane Dembélé's Ballon d'Or candidacy. Specifically, we would like to offer three carefully crafted tweets per week for one month, highlighting his performances, his impact, and the arguments for his recognition. Given your credibility and influence within the football community, your participation would add significant weight to this conversation. At this point, we would like to request a quote for this collaboration," it reads.
An agency based in India, no established link with Dembélé
While the journalist was careful to withhold the sender's name, The Athletic investigated after contacting the French player's clan, who claimed to be unaware of the matter. According to the American daily, the email came from a company called Bangrr International, based in India and founded by Ali Husain. Its website describes it as "a next-generation powerhouse in marketing, advertising, and content, redefining luxury brand storytelling."
There is no established link between this agency and Ousmane Dembélé, whether in his entourage, at PSG, or in Qatar. When contacted by The Athletic, the agency in question did not deny the facts but offered an unbelievable justification.
"An isolated initiative" by an intern
"This email was a spontaneous request sent by a young intern at our agency. A student passionate about football, advertising, and digital content creation, the intern had noticed Mr. Gardner's recent message mentioning collaboration requests. This inspired her to conduct some personal research on how influencers and journalists structure their partnerships for brand promotion, particularly in the football sector," Ali Husain told the American media.
“The intern saw this as an opportunity to learn about another segment of the digital landscape… (and) sent a speculative message to inquire about standard industry rates. This was an isolated initiative motivated by educational curiosity, not a directive from our agency or a campaign commissioned by a third party.”
After a historic season with PSG, Ousmane Dembélé (35 goals and 16 assists in 2024-2025 with the Parisian club, in all competitions) could become the sixth Frenchman to win the Ballon d'Or. Before him, Raymond Kopa (1958), Michel Platini (1983, 1984, 1985), Jean-Pierre Papin (1991), Zinedine Zidane (1998) and Karim Benzema (2022) have won the prestigious distinction.
"He was voted best player in the Champions League, best player in his league. He finished as the top scorer in his league. He's won everything. Whether his name is Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, there's no discussion," Luis Campos argued in "Rothen s'enflamme" on Monday on RMC. "We're looking at Lamine Yamal as a huge player for the future. But we're talking about a very specific season. His record has been decisive in all the previous years, and what has Lamine Yamal won? The Spanish league."
Commentaires (6)
Dembélé ne va pas gagner le ballon d'or il n'est pas un leader...
C'est lui qui qui a remporté la plus grande compétition d'Europe.
Logiquement, pour Yamal il faut des performances encore. Donc il ne peut pas l'être.
Je crois c’est plutôt le rédacteur de cet article qui fait la promotion de Dembélé
Dembélé a été utilisé comme un esclave par Luis Endriqué pour offrir au PSG sa 1ere champions league il n'a pas de personnalité si c'était le cas il allait au moins marquer un but en finale de champions league. finale coupe du monde des clubs Dembélé était inexistant et le PSG est humilié par Chelsea. Dembélé n'est pas le joueur qui à lui seul peut vous faire gagner un match comme Benzema, Yamal ou Raphinha. Aussi Yamal l'a humilié lors de la demi-finale de la league des nations. oh!
Bonjour,
Je tenais à vous dire combien j’apprécie le contenu de votre blog. Votre contenu est inspirant et très enrichissant pour les lecteurs !
Par la même occasion, je me permets de proposer une collaboration. Cela vous plairait-il d’accueillir un article invité de ma part ? Si c’est envisageable, pourriez-vous me préciser les modalités et éventuelles consignes à suivre ?
Dans l’attente de votre réponse, et encore bravo pour votre travail remarquable !
Bien cordialement,
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