"I am very happy to be able to enjoy a player of his level, even if in the Ballon d'Or rankings, he was not in the place he deserves," Luis Enrique said before Paris Saint Germain's trip to Le Havre this Friday. The PSG midfielder Vitinha finished 14th in the final 2025 Ballon d’Or rankings, nine places down from third last year.
The Ballon d'Or drop and the coach's view
Luis Enrique was even more direct in his praise of the Portuguese midfielder. Speaking to So Foot, he said: "Impressed? No, because I know him very well." He added: "What he brings us is so different, we had never seen that before."
The ranking change is real enough to raise eyebrows, but it does not erase what Vitinha has done for PSG. He has a 7.42 Ligue 1 rating across 8 appearances and 591 minutes, plus a 7.74 Champions League rating across 3 appearances and 270 minutes.
Big-match output still stands up
The strongest case for Vitinha is his recent work in Europe. He scored in PSG's 4-2 win over Manchester City in Manchester, then scored again in the 4-2 win over Barcelona, with the equaliser coming in the 81st minute when the match was level at 2-2.
He also produced an excellent display against Lyon on Monday, which lines up with the broader point Luis Enrique was making. PSG have won their last 5 matches, and Vitinha has already scored 2 goals in 3 Champions League appearances this season.
Luis Enrique's position is clear. Whatever the ballot said, he sees Vitinha as a player deserving of a higher finish, and PSG's trip to Le Havre this Friday is the next chance to keep that level in view.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →
