Mbappé Claims Ballon d'Or Based on Individual Records

Kylian Mbappé reaffirmed his Ballon d’Or candidacy in an interview with CNN, weeks before the ceremony scheduled for October 26 in London. The 27-year-old French striker, who also gave interviews to L’Équipe, AS, The Athletic and RFI, chose to emphasize his individual accomplishments to justify his claim to the trophy.

“Several players are still in contention and we’ll see what happens in October. But I think this year could be the right one for me,” said Real Madrid’s number 10, who won no collective titles last season, neither with his club nor with the French national team.

Mbappé was keen to refocus the debate on a strictly individual level: “When we talk about the Ballon d’Or, we’re talking about an individual award. So you have to look at individual performances: the one who makes history and who shows, on the biggest stages, that he is the best player in the world.”

The France captain relies on an unprecedented statistical record: top scorer in La Liga, the UEFA Champions League, and the FIFA World Cup during the same season. “For me, it should always be like that. The Ballon d’Or is awarded to one player only, so it must go to the best, to the one who proves he is and who delivers in all the major competitions,” he insisted.

It is his World Cup goal-scoring record that seems to matter most to him. “It’s something I could never have imagined: becoming the all-time top scorer in World Cup history, a competition that has seen the greatest players of all time. Being the one who holds this record at only 27 years old, it seems unreal. But it is now part of the history and legacy I want to leave in the world of football,” he concluded.

Mbappé has never won the Ballon d’Or. The ceremony will be held in London on October 26.