Veteran journalist Michael Oti Adjei has faced criticism on social media over his voting choices for the 2026 Ballon d’Or.

The TV3 Network sports journalist, who was Ghana’s official voter, placed Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé first, Harry Kane second and Lamine Yamal third in his selection.

Other players, including Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembélé, Declan Rice, Michael Olise, João Neves, Bruno Fernandes and Erling Haaland, occupied the fourth to 10th positions on his list.

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After France Football announced Kane as the winner, ahead of Mbappé by a narrow margin, the voting preferences were made public.

Since the release of the rankings, Oti Adjei has faced criticism from some football fans, who questioned why he placed Mbappé ahead of Yamal and Kane.

Some Barcelona fans criticised the journalist for ranking a player they believe won no trophies above others who claimed several titles, including the World Cup.

Others questioned his order of preference, particularly his placement of Messi ahead of Olise and his omission of Jude Bellingham from the top 10.

Oti Adjei responded to some of the criticism, accusing fans of complaining because their favourite players were not given priority in his rankings.

Read the comments below:

If the Ballon d’Or criteria are there to guide our votes, how does Mbappé come ahead of Kane and Yamal when we consider the complete season? I’d genuinely like to understand the reasoning behind your first-place vote because admiration for a player shouldn’t replace an objective assessment.

— koko ne bibiaa 1cedi (@kokonebibia1ced) October 31, 2026

@_owurakuampofo Jude no no dey ihn top 10 inside sef 😂😂. Meanwhile this motherfucker put Messi at 4th cos of World Cup performance. So where is the consistency? And to make matters worse, he put Rice ahead of Olise o😂😂😂. This mukui OG presenter paaa😂😂😂

— Ariesjnr (@Ariesjnr) October 31, 2026

@TouchlineX Wei....is that a reason to vote for someone who achieved for his individual selfishness?

— NanaYaw Barcelona (@Nanayaw_8) November 1, 2026

@TouchlineX It’s clear they hate to see Yamal win the Ballon Dor just because he’s young

— AMAZING GRACE (@joey_gb3k3) October 31, 2026

@_owurakuampofo What the fuck is Messi doing in the top 10?

— Obolo Tui (@DKO600) October 31, 2026

Cry me an even bigger fucking river.

— Michael Oti Adjei (@OtiAdjei) October 31, 2026

@TouchlineX Best player with 0 trophies in 3 seasons now lmao ,Next joke ..Who with their working brains vote for this bum Mbappe to win the ballon dor 😂

— 🥷⭐️(Fan) (@Szn4sznn) October 31, 2026

@_owurakuampofo @OtiAdjei, please can you explain to me why Messi is still in your top 5 list? Why not Olise

— boakye_ Frederick (@boakye_442) October 31, 2026

Barcelona fans are so funny I wonder how they wanted Yamal to win the Ballon D’OR ? I mean how ? Now they are attacking journos who voted in Ghana ? Wow

— FII (@fiifi_manfred) October 31, 2026

Michael Oti Adjei is a big disgrace to Ghana

— Suga Papi (@sugapapi01) November 1, 2026

@OtiAdjei without a trophy? boss did you read the criteria or you just voted based on your feelings please

— 𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝐑𝐎𝐘 🥷 (@Leroyszn7) October 31, 2026

@OtiAdjei It seems oti adjei didn’t understand the English well …they said best player in the world ….not your personal best player 😂😂…… cos me like this my best player is Messi …but I know the best player under all the criteria be Yamal …

— Gordon istand (@kojopedri) October 31, 2026