{"id":"1793026104981-sports-show_open","slug":"mbappe-heads-to-ballon-d-or","title":"Mbappé Heads to Ballon d'Or","summary":"Real Madrid's delegation to the Ballon d'Or in London includes Kylian Mbappé, Marc Cucurella, and Yan Diomande, led by Emilio Butragueño. Multiple outlets confirmed they traveled from Madrid on Monday.","publishedAt":"2026-10-26T14:48:24.981Z","channel":{"id":"sports","name":"Oncast Sports","language":"en"},"show":"Morning Sports","verification":{"status":"verified","leadVerdict":"TRUE","notes":"TRUE: Real Madrid's delegation to the Ballon d'Or in London includes Kylian Mbappé, Marc Cucurella, and Yan Diomande, led by Emilio Butragueño. Multiple outlets confirmed they traveled from Madrid on Monday.\nSource: [as.com](https://as.com/futbol/mbappe-cucurella-y-diomande-a-la-gala-del-balon-de-oro-f202610-n/) / [sports.yahoo.com](https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/three-fi (https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/2114728579800207533)","claims":[{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"Real Madrid's delegation to the Ballon d'Or in London includes Kylian Mbappé, Marc Cucurella, and Yan Diomande, led by Emilio Butragueño. Multiple outlets confirmed they traveled from Madrid on Monday.","sourceName":"[as.com](https://as.com/futbol/mbappe-cucurella-y-diomande-a-la-gala-del-balon-de-oro-f202610-n/) / [sports.yahoo.com](https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/three-fi","sourceUrl":"https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/2114728579800207533","claim":"⚪️✨ Not only Kylian Mbappé; also Yan Diomande and Marc Cucurella travel with Real Madrid delegation to the Ballon d’Or. https://t.co/VeyLuwdOzW","author":"Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano)"}]},"sources":[{"url":"https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/2114728579800207533","name":"[as.com](https://as.com/futbol/mbappe-cucurella-y-diomande-a-la-gala-del-balon-de-oro-f202610-n/) / [sports.yahoo.com](https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/three-fi","kind":"x","verdict":"TRUE","author":"Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano)"}],"url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1793026104981-sports-show_open-mbappe-heads-to-ballon-d-or","listenUrl":"https://oncast.fm/c/sports","attribution":{"publisher":"Oncast","site":"https://oncast.fm","url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1793026104981-sports-show_open-mbappe-heads-to-ballon-d-or","cite":"Cite https://oncast.fm/story/1793026104981-sports-show_open-mbappe-heads-to-ballon-d-or and the original source links. Fact-check by Oncast (oncast.fm)."},"hostsSaid":[{"host":"Marcus","text":"Morning Sports is live, and the Ballon d'Or hands out tonight with Mbappé already in the air."},{"host":"Liam","text":"And Dallas and Philly under the lights later. Grab your coffee, we're moving."},{"host":"Marcus","text":"Fabrizio Romano just posted — Mbappé, Marc Cucurella, and Yan Diomande all traveling with the Real Madrid delegation to the Ballon d'Or in London."},{"host":"Liam","text":"So basically a Madrid team outing. Mbappé's the favorite and everyone knows it."},{"host":"Marcus","text":"Cucurella's a nominee too, and Diomande's up for the young player award. That's a real crew, not a photo op."},{"host":"Liam","text":"Fair enough, but come on — this is Mbappé's show. Big games, big moments, he decides them."},{"host":"Marcus","text":"You're acting like he played alone. Madrid had talent everywhere last season."},{"host":"Liam","text":"I'm not saying alone. I'm saying when Madrid needed a goal in a final, it came from him. That's the Ballon d'Or."},{"host":"Marcus","text":"But hold on — does he actually win it? There's a real case that one of the other two snuck ahead."},{"host":"Liam","text":"Oh, you're already doubting him? Who's your pick?"},{"host":"Marcus","text":"Not saying a name yet. I'm saying the field's deeper than people think."},{"host":"Marcus","text":"And Romano's already stirring it up — his Soccerment data has Raphinha in the top ten of Europe for goals plus assists per ninety minutes. The exact ranking I couldn't verify, but the eye test says he's been insane."},{"host":"Liam","text":"Raphinha got robbed. Barcelona's whole attack runs through him now — goals, assists, big moments, all of it."},{"host":"Marcus","text":"So that's your snub? Because mine is Enzo Fernández — the guy does the dirty work nobody votes for and his team's whole engine runs through him."},{"host":"Liam","text":"Dirty work doesn't win Ballon d'Or. Never has. The award goes to the guy who fills the stat sheet, and that's Raphinha."},{"host":"Marcus","text":"Raphinha's a winger! The Ballon d'Or keeps going to attackers and midfielders get ignored year after year!"},{"host":"Liam","text":"No — I'm telling you the Ballon d'Or has always been about attackers. It's not fair, it's just true. Raphinha had the numbers AND the moments."},{"host":"Marcus","text":"Fine, we're not settling this before the ceremony. But if Mbappé doesn't win, that whole delegation can just turn around."},{"host":"Liam","text":"Madrid would riot in the streets."},{"host":"Marcus","text":"From London to Dallas: the Cowboys and Eagles tonight, eight fifteen Eastern on ABC and ESPN. NFC East under the lights."},{"host":"Liam","text":"The league's hyping it as scary hours. And that division is a knife fight every single week."},{"host":"Marcus","text":"My take — Philadelphia's defensive front wins the line of scrimmage and that's the whole game."},{"host":"Liam","text":"That's the whole game? The line wins, game over? That's your analysis?"},{"host":"Marcus","text":"It's the NFC East. It always comes down to the trenches. You got a better take?"},{"host":"Liam","text":"Dallas's run game. When they control the clock, that Eagles defense wears down in the fourth quarter."},{"host":"Marcus","text":"'When' is doing a lot of heavy lifting there, my friend."},{"host":"Liam","text":"Here's the thing — Dallas needs this game way more than Philly. They start slow and the whole season goes sideways."},{"host":"Marcus","text":"Pressure doesn't win football games. Matchups do."},{"host":"Liam","text":"You keep saying that like it's deep. I'm telling you, the Cowboys come out desperate and it shows."},{"host":"Marcus","text":"Fine, we'll see it tonight. Eight fifteen Eastern."},{"host":"Liam","text":"It's the NFL. They'd put it on your toaster if they could."},{"host":"Marcus","text":"Probably true. Three different channels and a streaming service for one game."},{"host":"Liam","text":"And on the hardwood — the NBA account just posted LaMelo Ball's Minnesota debut. Stepback three, Ant Edwards losing his mind on the bench."},{"host":"Marcus","text":"LaMelo's a Timberwolf now? Him and Ant in the same backcourt is just not fair."},{"host":"Liam","text":"Two of the most electric guards in the league, same team. Must-watch every night."},{"host":"Marcus","text":"That clip of Ant reacting is wild. The Wolves went from forgettable to can't-miss in one move."},{"host":"Liam","text":"The NBA's account has them 3-0 to start. Small sample, but that offense is going to terrorize the West."},{"host":"Marcus","text":"But let's not get carried away — LaMelo and Ant together, who takes the last shot? That's going to get awkward."},{"host":"Liam","text":"Whoever's open. They're both too smart to fight over it."},{"host":"Marcus","text":"Three games in, sure. Talk to me in the playoffs."},{"host":"Liam","text":"That's your Morning Sports start. Ballon d'Or tonight, Cowboys-Eagles — we'll be all over all of it."}]}