Lizarazu picks Fabian Ruiz for Ballon d'Or: When a double of major trophies outweighs every performance

Bixente Lizarazu has just thrown a strong statement into the Ballon d'Or race: Fabian Ruiz must be the winner. Not because the Spanish midfielder produces the most beautiful skills, not because he scores the most goals, but because in one season he lifted both the Champions League and the World Cup. The former French defender did not talk about technique, speed or creativity. He only mentioned two words: trophies. This way of framing the debate completely shifts the conversation. Instead of comparing goals, assists or moments of genius, Lizarazu reduces everything to a single criterion. If that criterion is accepted, Fabian Ruiz has almost no rival. He has just experienced a year many players dream of: winning the most prestigious club competition and winning the biggest football event on earth with Spain. Lizarazu knows what he is talking about. He was a World Cup winner in 2026 and played in the biggest matches, so when he says trophies matter, fans may disagree but cannot ignore him. For him, elite football is not about rewarding the prettiest player but about honoring the winner. Fabian Ruiz won on the two most important fronts. Kylian Mbappe, in that same view, becomes the opposite image. Mbappe is a name that always appears in any discussion about the best individual. He has speed, scoring ability and moments that leave stadiums breathless. But in the season in question, Mbappe does not have a trophy collection comparable to Ruiz's. If Lizarazu's logic is applied, Mbappe's brilliant performances become less valuable. He may be the biggest difference-maker on the pitch, but his team did not win the decisive trophies. This raises a big question: Is the Ballon d'Or honoring an individual or a collective? A midfielder like Fabian Ruiz may not score many goals or dribble past three players, but he controls the tempo and is a key cog in a winning machine. A striker like Mbappe may score in every match, but if his team ends empty-handed, is he truly the best player of the year? The current analysis does not provide xG, key passes, pressing numbers or off-ball movement for Ruiz. That says a lot: he is being judged by trophies, not by tactical data. That approach is not wrong, but it lacks the most important part of determining a player's real value. Let us try placing Fabian Ruiz in a team without stars around him. Would he still shine? Conversely, put Mbappe in a squad that won the Champions League and World Cup. Would he be overlooked? The answer is not simple. But Lizarazu's framing is making people forget that football is a team sport, and trophies never fully reflect individual ability. Looking at history, Ballon d'Or debates always have two camps. The first believes the award should go to the best player, regardless of whether their team won. The second, like Lizarazu, believes winning is the only thing that counts. Fabian Ruiz perfectly represents the second camp. He does not need to be the top scorer or the star of every highlight. He just stands there, in the title-winning squad, and lets the trophies speak. Mbappe, by contrast, is the symbol of the first camp. He is someone who can decide a match on his own. But in a year when those moments did not come with a major trophy, he loses ground in the eyes of those who value collective success. Lizarazu does not say directly that Mbappe is undeserving, but his support for Ruiz says it all. Interestingly, Fabian Ruiz is not the kind of player who frequently appears on magazine covers. He does not have the charisma or personal brand of Mbappe. He simply plays quietly, moves intelligently, passes accurately and executes his tactical role. In a football world dominated by attacking stars, a midfielder like Ruiz being mentioned in the Ballon d'Or race is already a victory of thought. But there is a paradox: If trophies are the main criterion, why not give the award to every member of the winning team? Why only Fabian Ruiz, not a defender, goalkeeper or another attacker in the same squad? The answer is that people still need an individual representative. And once they need an individual, they are forced to compare talent, form and influence. Lizarazu can talk about trophies, but the very fact he must choose Ruiz among a winning collective shows that individual factors still creep into the game. If we only look at the trophy, Fabian Ruiz is fully deserving. But if we look at how a player changes the outcome of a match, Mbappe remains a formidable name. The problem is that experts and fans have never agreed on the answer. Every year the debate erupts again, and every year a new generation of players raises new questions. Bixente Lizarazu does not offer deep tactical analysis. He simply makes a choice based on his philosophy: football is about winning. Fabian Ruiz won at the highest level. Mbappe, even if he might be the better player on a given day, did not deliver equivalent trophies. For Lizarazu, that is enough to decide. However, the Ballon d'Or has never been a team of the year award. It is the most prestigious individual prize, meaning the winner must prove they are the outstanding individual, not the luckiest one. Fabian Ruiz may not be lucky to compete with a generation of talented attackers, but he cannot deny that his trophies owe a great deal to his teammates. Imagine a year without the Champions League and the World Cup. Would Fabian Ruiz even be mentioned based on club form alone? Probably not. Those two major trophies have elevated him. That shows how much weight trophies carry, but it also shows how fragile the line between individual value and collective value is. Mbappe stands on the other side of that line. He may be the best player in every single match, but without trophies, his performances will be forgotten faster than people think. Football history is full of great talents who never won a major title. They are remembered with regret, not with full honor. Lizarazu's view, therefore, is not entirely wrong. It reflects the mindset of a man who won at the highest level. For him, football is not pure art to be admired; it is a battle to prove who is strongest. And the strongest this year is the one who lifted both the Champions League and the World Cup. But the final question remains open: Is a midfielder who plays well in a title-winning team more deserving than a striker who performs brilliantly in a team that wins nothing? There is no universal answer. Each person will choose a side based on their own values. Lizarazu has chosen the trophy side. Fabian Ruiz, thanks to that, becomes the number one candidate in his eyes. As for Mbappe, perhaps he will have to wait another year to explain to the world that football is not only measured by silverware. While waiting for the final vote, fans can see in Fabian Ruiz a new model: a player who does not need to shout to be recognized, does not need to show off to shine. He only needs to be present, win, and let the trophies speak. If the Ballon d'Or goes to him this year, it will be a victory for the philosophy of results. If not, Mbappe will prove that individual talent remains a diamond that cannot be dimmed by any trophy.