Vincent Kompany says Bayern Munich’s collective success matters more to him than the Ballon d’Or, despite Harry Kane and Michael Olise being among the contenders for the individual award.
Speaking at his pre-match news conference before Saturday’s Bundesliga meeting with Augsburg, Kompany was asked about the chances of his two players winning the prize.
“I think it has already been decided, right? So I cannot change anything now, whatever I say,” the Bayern manager said.
“I am sorry, but I do not have this Ballon d’Or in my mind every day. Today I am only thinking about Augsburg.”
Kompany added that he would welcome a Bayern player winning the award, but made clear that trophies with the club remained his priority.
“I hope a player from Bayern wins it. But of course, the most important thing for me is that we win trophies with Bayern,” he said.
“I know Harry and Michael well, and they think the same way. That is what makes us a team.”
The Belgian is also due to receive a personal honour from Markus Soder, the Minister-President of Bavaria, in recognition of his sporting achievements and his opposition to racism.
Kompany said he did not want his stance against racism to be viewed as something motivated by awards.
“It is a sports award. I do not want to receive an award for a speech against racism,” he said. “I do not do it for awards, but because the right thing has to be said at a certain moment. The award is very nice, of course.”
According to Bild, Kompany will be presented with the personal award by Soder at the Bavarian Sports Award 2026 ceremony, which is scheduled to take place after the match against Augsburg.
The newspaper reported that Soder particularly values Kompany’s clear position against racism and exclusion.
Kompany delivered a 12-minute speech at a Bayern news conference in February which attracted worldwide attention. He was responding to the racist abuse suffered by Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior during the Benfica and Real Madrid match in the Champions League.
The manager also addressed comments made at the time by Jose Mourinho, then Benfica manager, who had placed part of the responsibility on Vinicius.
Kompany’s immediate focus, however, is Saturday’s fixture, with the Bayern boss reiterating that the Bavarian club’s team objectives take precedence over individual recognition.
