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Henry and Mourinho back Mbappé as their favourite for 2026 Ballon d'Or

Thierry Henry and José Mourinho have both publicly backed Kylian Mbappé for the 2026 Ballon d'Or, citing his top scorer awards in the UEFA Champions League, La Liga and the FIFA World Cup.

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Henry and Mourinho back Mbappé as their favourite for 2026 Ballon d'Or
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Thierry Henry and José Mourinho have publicly backed Kylian Mbappé for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, the day after France Football published the list of 30 nominees.

Questioned on CBS Sports, the former France striker dismissed the argument that Mbappé cannot claim the trophy due to a lack of collective honours this season. “People will tell me he won nothing… I think some people should do their research and they will find that some Ballon d’Or winners won nothing the year before their triumph,” he said. Henry then outlined the 27-year-old’s individual record: top scorer in the UEFA Champions League, top scorer in La Liga, top scorer in the FIFA World Cup. “For me, it’s Kylian,” he concluded, while citing Michael Olise as a potential runner-up.

José Mourinho struck a similar tone after Real Madrid’s victory over Inter Milan. The Madrid manager rejected the trophy criterion as a sine qua non condition: “The best player in the world can have a season without a title. Conversely, you can win everything and not be the best player in the world.”

Henry did however qualify his prediction: had France won the World Cup, Lionel Messi would have been his favourite. As it stands, Mbappé’s statistical performances seem decisive in what promises to be an open race.

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