Didier Deschamps wasn’t sure if N’Golo Kante had the correct criteria to win the Ballon d’Or, despite performing so well for Chelsea.
Speaking to RMC , the France manager was asked whether his midfielder could collect the coveted individual honour.
Kante has been cast forward for the award after an outstanding second half of the season.
He roared back to life under Thomas Tuchel, having slightly struggled with injuries during Frank Lampard’s tenure.
The 30-year-old was magnificent in the Champions League knockout rounds and his efforts were rewarded by a winner’s medal.
His attentions will now turn to winning the European Championships with France, attempting to revenge their final defeat five years ago.
Claim more international glory and Kante can’t be too far away from a Ballon d’Or nomination.
Deschamps in doubt
However, Deschamps was doubtful that the Chelsea star had enough flair to compete for the prize.
“Kante remains a very, very great player who potentially deserves this award,” said the Le Blues boss.
“But I don’t know if it’s accessible to a player who is not creative, who scores little.
“He can score a few goals and make a few assists but as a rule … It happened, there were some like Fabio Cannavaro or others in my time, like Matthias Sammer.
“But as a general rule, in the majority of cases, it concerns a creative player, that is to say decisive.”
Chronicle View
Look down the list of previous Ballon d’Or champions and two names completely dominate.
One of Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi have won the accolade every year since 2008, except from 2018, where Luka Modric stole in front of the iconic pair.
Even beyond Ronaldo and Messi’s dominance, players like Kaka, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Luis Figo were the kings.
Players who got crowds up off their feet, that got fans purring at the television screens.
For all his brilliance, Kante is not that type of figure.
He performs simple tasks almost perfectly and makes those around him better for it.
But in a year where both Ronaldo and Messi have failed to stamp their mark in Europe, perhaps now is the time to announce a new Ballon D’or leader.
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