Laure Boulleau backs Mbappé for 2026 Ballon d'Or despite lack of trophy

Two days before the Ballon d’Or ceremony, scheduled for Monday evening at London Palladium, Laure Boulleau takes a stand: for the former France international, it is Kylian Mbappé who deserves to succeed Ousmane Dembélé on the honours list.

“Honestly, I think it’s Kylian Mbappé,” the pundit told So Foot, on the sidelines of presenting her documentary on violence in football. She justifies her choice by an accumulation of records: all-time leading scorer in World Cup history, leading scorer of the tournament, leading scorer in the Ligue des Champions and leading scorer in La Liga over the past season.

The argument of the absence of collective trophies, often raised against the France captain, does not convince Boulleau. “Yes, certainly, there was no trophy won, but in an open year where in Spain there is no player who has dominated in his team, I think we can say he has broken everything in terms of goals and he can win the Ballon d’Or,” she argues.

A win Monday evening would be a first for the Real Madrid striker. At 27, Mbappé would become the seventh French player crowned, joining Raymond Kopa (1958), Michel Platini (1983, 1984, 1985), Jean-Pierre Papin (1991), Zinédine Zidane (1998), Karim Benzema (2022) and Ousmane Dembélé (2025).

The list of contenders remains long a few hours before the verdict: Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Rodri are among the names regularly cited, without any emerging as an undisputed favourite in the eyes of all observers.