Mbappé claims Ballon d'Or for himself and takes swipes at Raphinha and Dembélé

Kylian Mbappé declared he would vote for himself for the Ballon d’Or in an interview with L’Équipe published on the eve of the announcement of the thirty finalists. The Real Madrid striker believes his credentials are strong enough to claim the trophy.

“For me,” he answered directly when asked who he would vote for. “I can understand those who would vote differently, we’re not in a dictatorship of thought. But when you look at the arguments, when you look at the competition, I tell myself it wouldn’t be undeserved.”

Facing criticism that he has won no collective trophies this season, Mbappé brushed aside the objection by recalling that the Ballon d’Or has never been awarded unanimously. “Has anyone ever won with 100% of the votes?” he asked the journalist before concluding: “So that means there’s always someone who thought they didn’t deserve it. From that point on, I’m not saying I’ll win it unanimously, but I think I have arguments.”

The France captain summed up these arguments with his goals and his place in World Cup history. “Being the all-time top scorer in World Cup history, surpassing all the greatest legends in the history of sport in the most important tournament that sport has created, that’s something that burns the retina,” he said passionately. “Finishing as the top scorer in all the most important competitions, where all the best players play, that’s something significant.”

At a press conference the same day, Mbappé extended his case by taking swipes at two of his direct rivals, Raphinha and Ousmane Dembélé, whom he criticized for scoring less than him. The Catalan newspaper Sport suggested the Madrid star had “forgotten humility” — a sentiment shared by many observers given the tone adopted. With sportsmanship and fair play being the third official criterion for the Ballon d’Or, this sequence could weigh on the deliberations.