Article by Daniel Grigore – Published Thursday, November 27, 2025, 12:31 / Updated Thursday, November 27, 2025 12:37
Thomas Frank, the manager of Tottenham, believes that he has seen the next Ballon d'Or at work in defeat with PSG, 3-5: it is about the Portuguese midfielder Vitinha, the author of a hat-trick.
In 2025, Ousmane Dembele, PSG's right winger, was awarded the Ballon d'Or. In third place was the player of the European and French champions, midfielder Vitinha, who also won the League of Nations with the Portuguese national team.
In 2026, Thomas Frank sees Vitinha capable of climbing the very first step of the podium. His comments came after PSG beat Tottenham 5-3 in the Champions League, a success in which the Portuguese contributed a hat-trick.
Beaten by PSG, Tottenham manager finds 'next Ballon d'Or': 'WOW, what a player!'
“We faced a 'decent' team. They have a Ballon d'Or winner (no – Ousmane Dembele) and I think the next one plays in the middle, Vitinha. Wow, what a player!Frank said during the press conference.
Vitinha's first goal, coming in the 45th minute, was a wonder: first-time shot, from 17-18 meters from the goal, crossbar-goal. And the second success, 2-2 in the 53rd minute, was spectacular. The Portuguese took over on the edge of the box, avoided Spence and finished with a left foot into the side netting.
The last goal, with which he closed the table in the 76th minute, came from a penalty also obtained by him.
Vitinha scored 3 goals against Tottenham // photo: Guliver/gettyimages
Thomas Frank: “I saw character, personality, aggression. I'm satisfied”
About the game, the Danish coach explained:
“It was the reaction we wanted from the team. We worked hard to make sure we respond well and bounce back from that poor performance (no – against Arsenal). I want us to have a lot more character, personality, aggression. There are three things you have to have in the team, no matter how you play. I saw that tonight and I'm happy. (…)
It's something to build on. The strikers scored two goals, I think the whole team played well. Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall had positive performances. (…)
The game plan was to go after PSG, to defend man to man. Anyone who has followed me at least a little bit knows that this is what I want, that aggressiveness, dynamic. To do that against a PSG who are so fluid, so mobile all over the pitch I thought we need a midfielder who runs, strong.”
