Typically, winning the esteemed Ballon d’Or brings forth days of joy and festivities for the winner. However, it appears that isn’t the case for Emma Hayes.  The USWNT boss had already voiced her frustration with the timing of the Ballon d’Or ceremony, which coincided with the women’s international window, causing her to miss out on attending. And now she has remarked that she is least concerned about this accolade.

Wow, now that is certainly a hot take but there are valid explanations behind Emma Hayes’ stance. While Ballon d’Or recognized her as the Women’s Coach of the Year, for her that is not what makes her the best rather it is the team accomplishments she has achieved.

Ahead of USWNT’s match against Argentina, the ex-Chelsea boss participated in a press conference discussing her award recognition. When asked for her opinion on receiving an honor at the Ballon d’Or event, she replied, “I think you ask any coach this question, and more often than not, I think we’d say the same things.”

The 48-year-old further elaborated, “The thing we love the most is being part of a team. So the individual honors piece, for me, is the least interesting part of it.” While winning the Ballon d’Or didn’t give her the satisfaction others might expect she revealed what exactly did that for her. And that is winning the Olympic Gold with USWNT along with multiple WSL titles at Chelsea.

All this encapsulates what success means to Emma Hayes. Well, it seems this mentality is what the sign of an elite manager seems to be. You may ask why, well that’s because Pep Guardiola also recently made some similar remarks regarding the Ballon d’Or ceremony.

Pep Guardiola shares similar sentiments as Emma Hayes

For Pep Guardiola, the Ballon d’Or didn’t prove to be as rewarding as it was for Emma Hayes. He missed out on the Men’s Coach of the Year honor, which was awarded to Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti instead for his impressive 2023-24 season where he won the Champions League and La Liga. But hey, his star player Rodri won the Men’s Ballon d’Or so that’s something!

Well anyway, Guardiola appears largely unfazed by his own loss, given he has openly expressed that he doesn’t particularly like the ceremony. Prior to the glamorous event in Paris, when asked about his views on this esteemed award, he candidly remarked, “I don’t care for a moment about the Ballon d’Or or that kind of thing.” This seems to support Emma Hayes’ recent assertion perfectly.

What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments.