While believing 1998 was not his best year as a footballer, Zinedine Zidane has conceded he wanted to be recognised as the best player in the world.
Zidane was a talismanic figure on French soil as Les Bleus claimed their first World Cup, scoring two goals in the final against Brazil and propelling him to the Ballon d'Or.
Despite going on to scale further heights in football at both club and international level, it remained the only year he ever won the prestigious individual award.
Speaking to L'Equipe to mark his 50th birthday, Zidane revealed it is one of the few trophies he kept from an exceptional playing career, while admitting he particularly wanted the status in the game that accompanied it.
"Because I give everything, I am able to offer everything," he said. "I have almost nothing at home from my career. Two or three objects. I am not at all conservative or materialistic. When I want to see souvenirs, I go to Marseille [where his parents live]. I don't live with it.
"I was a little overconfident the weeks before the vote. I got a little fired up in a few interviews. I've never been one to say, 'I deserve this or that,' but with this Ballon d'Or, in 1998, I told myself a little bit. It wasn't really me but I really wanted to have it.
"I was the best player in the world. It does not happen often, and to me only once. There may be preferences in the votes but when you have it, you have it. You are the best player in the world at this time, and it's beautiful."
Zidane admitted to a dip in form with Juventus after the World Cup success, but believes 2000 was his best year as a footballer as he led an "unplayable" France to a second European Championship.
"After the World Cup, I was catastrophic," he said. "I no longer put one foot in front of the other. Even my friends told me: 'But it's your cousin who plays, it's your cousin who came back to Juve!' When you win a big title like the World Cup, you tend to slack off. And me, I really relaxed.
"It takes time. After January, I restarted. Very well in January and February then I injured myself. One hundred days. The season is over. Then I resumed for the 1999-2000 season with the victory at the Euro. There, I was at the top.
"For the next two or three seasons, I never let go. 1998 was my year but I think 1999-2000 was my greatest season. Not just for me. For our whole generation in blue. Our France team was exceptional. Euro 2000 remains the pinnacle of this generation. At the Euro, we were unplayable."
Chelsea stay perfect as Man Utd thrash rivals Liverpool
Chelsea maintained their perfect run in the Women's Super League with a 4-2 win over Brighton, while Manchester United thrashed Liverpool 4-0.
On a pulsating day of action that saw 28 goals scored across six matches, United got the action started with their demolition of Liverpool, with four different goalscorers on target.
Quick-fire goals from Elisabeth Terland and Leah Galton gave United a comfortable advantage at the break, before Dominique Janssen curled home the Red Devils' third just before the hour-mark, with the win sealed by substitute Melvine Malard nine minutes from time.
It was a routine win for Marc Skinner's side, who have struggled for consistency in recent weeks, though the United boss said there is still room for improvement.
"I thought we were good. When we don't meet our high standards, we face criticism, but when we do play well, and we're dominant, we deserve the accolades," said Skinner.
"It was a pretty even game up until [the first two goals were scored]. The second half was much more comfortable."
Chelsea are still five points clear at the WSL summit after edging a six-goal thriller against Brighton at Kingsmeadow.
Two goals in five minutes from Sjoeke Nusken and Aggie Beever-Jones put the Blues in control, only for Sonia Bompastor's team to have their lead cut in half before the break by Jelena Cankovic.
Chelsea restored their two-goal advantage six minutes after the restart through Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, but the Seagulls responded once more.
Kiko Seike's finish put the Blues' perfect start under threat in the final 20 minutes, but Chelsea sealed the win in second-half stoppage time, with Nusken on target once again.
Bompastor is now unbeaten in her last 31 games across all competitions (W28 L3), and Sunday's win perhaps should have been won by a more marginal scoreline, while Chelsea have matched the Arsenal side of 2018-19 in winning their first nine WSL games of a campaign. Should they beat Leicester City next week, they will be the first team in the competition's history to reel off 10 victories to start a season.
The Blues registered a mammoth 31 shots, though only eight were on target, accumulating an expected goals (xG) total of 4.08 compared to Brighton's 2.19.
Not wanting to be done by their neighbours or their title rivals, Manchester City also scored four as they comfortably dispatched Leicester 4-0, with Khadija Shaw netting twice.
Shaw gave the hosts a second-minute lead when she nodded in Kerstin Casparij's cross, and doubled her tally before the half-hour mark with a powerful header.
Jessica Park added the Citizens' third four minutes after the break, before Mary Fowler concluded the scoring with a fine volley from close range nine minutes later.
And Gareth Taylor's side were worthy of their victory, restricting Leicester to just three shots on Khiara Keating's goal, while also ending the encounter with 71.7% possession.
There was also another big win for Arsenal, with the Gunners earning a 4-0 win over Aston Villa, with Alessia Russo on target for the fourth consecutive WSL match.
Russo's glancing header from Kyra Cooney-Cross' inswinging free-kick put Arsenal ahead, and Beth Mead doubled their advantage.
Substitute Stina Blackstenius netted the Gunners' third before Russo capped off her double in second half stoppage time, having seen an earlier effort ruled out for offside.
It marked yet another win for interim head coach Renee Slegers, who is now unbeaten in her eight games in charge across all competitions since taking over from Jonas Eidevall.
Sunday's highest scoring fixture took place at the Chigwell Construction Stadium, with West Ham coming from two goals down to beat relegation rivals Crystal Palace 5-2.
Mille Gejl and Indiah-Paige Riley put Palace in control inside 11 minutes, before Viviane Asseyi, Seraina Piubel and Manuela Pavi hit back for the Hammers before the break.
Anouk Denton put West Ham further in front with a fine finish, before Hammers captain Katrina Gorry grabbed an injury-time fifth.
The defeat means Palace have gone 1-0 up in four of their last five league games, but failed to win any of them. No other team has dropped more points from winning positions this term than the Eagles (10).
Tottenham beat Everton 2-1 thanks to Bethany England's brace.
England scored either side of Sara Holmgaard's 40th minute equaliser, sealing Spurs' third win of the campaign, all of which have come at home.
Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea: Palmer penalty double seals comeback for title-chasing Blues
Cole Palmer's penalty double completed a remarkable 4-3 victory over Tottenham as Chelsea cut the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool to four points.
Chelsea thumped nine-man Spurs 4-1 in the corresponding fixture last term but required an almighty comeback as Marc Cucurella's errors gifted the hosts an early 2-0 lead on Sunday.
Dejan Kulusevski's pinpoint finish followed Dominic Solanke's well-taken opener at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, though Jadon Sancho reduced the arrears with a delightful finish with just 17 minutes on the clock.
Palmer levelled just past the hour with his first penalty after Yves Bissouma needlessly felled the marauding Moises Caicedo, who had earlier survived a VAR check for a lunging tackle on Pape Sarr in the first half.
The Chelsea talisman won another spot-kick after Sarr's mindless push, with Palmer coolly drinking beyond Fraser Forster, after Enzo Fernandez had blasted the Blues ahead with 17 minutes remaining.
Son Heung-min’s stoppage-time strike appeared to tee up a nervy ending for Chelsea, though, as the Spurs winger slotted past Robert Sanchez from substitute James Maddison's cutback pass.
However, Enzo Maresca's side held firm to move two points clear of Arsenal in second and make ground on Liverpool, while Spurs sit 11th after a second defeat in the space of three days.
Data Debrief: Chelsea powered by ice-cold Palmer
It seems there is no doubt when Palmer steps up from 12 yards out he will score, as the Chelsea man converted his 11th and 12th penalties in the Premier League on Sunday.
The former Manchester City man has a perfect record from his 12 penalty attempts, the most any player has taken in the competition without ever missing, surpassing Yaya Toure (11).
Palmer has also been directly involved in 38 Premier League goals in 2024 (25 goals, 13 assists), the outright most in a calendar year by a Chelsea player in the competition.
He reached 50 goal involvements (33 goals, 17 assists) in 48 Premier League games for Chelsea here; only Erling Haaland for Man City (39), Andy Cole for Newcastle United (43), and Mohamed Salah for Liverpool (46) have ever reached that total in fewer appearances for a club in England's top competition.
Palmer's heroics saw Tottenham lose an 11th Premier League game after having been two or more goals ahead – at least four more such defeats than any other side in Premier League history.
Bournemouth defeat a big blow for Ipswich, concedes McKenna
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna conceded the nature of his team's dramatic 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth is a 'big blow' for his players.
The Tractor Boys looked on course for their first home victory in the top flight since 2002 after Conor Chaplin put them in front in the first-half.
The home side kept Bournemouth at bay for the majority of the match but late goals from Enes Unal and Dango Ouattara saw his side lose for the third successive match, leaving them 18th and four points adrift of Crystal Palace above them.
McKenna believed his side deserved better but admitted his players have been left impacted by the nature of the defeat.
"It's an extremely disappointed dressing room," he told BBC Sport.
"I thought it was a good performance with some outstanding performances. Conceding late changes the momentum, and then they go and grab a second."
Bournemouth made four substitutions before McKenna made his first sub of the match but the Northern Irishman was adamant that reinforcements were not needed at the time.
He said: "The game was in such a good place, we normally make subs earlier but we were doing well. We weren't giving away too much and we were getting stronger.
"It's a big blow but the group is working so well. We've had a disappointing week but we are working hard and competing with teams."
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola was delighted with the impact of his substitutes as they helped the Cherries to a third successive league win.
He told BBC Sport: "The subs gave us the end product that we were missing. We were arriving in the right places but not finishing.
"They finished well, we were almost in desperation mode at that point. We didn't have much structure and it was just about trying to get something."
Victory leaves Iraola's men just three points off Manchester City, who occupy fourth place, but the Spaniard insists it is not the time to be looking at the table.
"I don't think we have to look at the standings, it's too early," he said.
"The most important thing is trying to win and then we see how many points we can get by the midway point."
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