Kylian Mbappé has taken the somewhat unusual step to campaign for the Ballon d’Or this season, telling French magazine L’Equipe, “There was no one better than me last season.”
Mbappé was the top scorer of this past FIFA World Cup, albeit he took advantage of a third-place match played at a leisurely pace to leapfrog Lionel Messi. His individual stats were brilliant, but the biggest knock on his campaign was that he did not win a trophy. A few previous Ballon d’Or winners have won the award without
winning a team trophy that season, most recently Cristiano Ronaldo in 2013, but it is unusual.
“I have always believed that the Ballon d’Or should reward a player who stands apart. Of course, there is a team component—and it is important, because football is a team sport—but it is an individual trophy. My idea of the Ballon d’Or is shaped by the Messi and Ronaldo era: it is never awarded to ordinary players, but to those who are truly different. And I believe I have done things that set me apart this year. That is why I think I can win it,” the French star said.
Betting sites, however, disagree. Harry Kane of Bayern Munich is rated as the most likely winner, with Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona coming second, and Mbappé third.
The Real Madrid star praised Yamal, though he did so within the context of upcoming youngsters, not necessarily as a fellow competitor for football’s top individual prize.
“Among the young players, I like Lamine Yamal. He has it all,” he said. “I like Estevão; he has a special creativity. Here, Arda Güler could go very far. Endrick has potential—he’s a goalscorer. Warren Zaïre-Emery and Désiré Doué are going to have great careers, for sure,” he said.
Despite confidently backing himself, Mbappé did admit that, “objectively speaking, I can understand those who might vote differently,” for the Ballon d’Or, saying his thinking was not “a dictatorship.”
But, he says, “when you analyze the arguments and the competition, it wouldn’t be unfair,” for him to win.
