Ever since he was a child, and just like many other young footballers, Paul Pogba has spoken of his obsession with winning a trophy. Unlike many other young footballers, though, that trophy is not the World Cup nor the Champions League.
"His objective is the Ballon D'Or," Pogba's personal trainer, Didier Reiss, recently said. "He will leave no stone unturned to get there."
According to many within the game, that single-minded pursuit of an individual award -- above one of the sport's great team trophies -- is an increasingly common attitude among the developing elite. It shows that the Ballon D'Or itself has moved onto a different dimension, and started to influence football, rather than just reflect which players are most influencing football themselves.