Mbappe Boldly Declares Himself The Best: Does He Deserve The Ballon d'Or?

Kylian Mbappé is making a bold push for the Ballon d'Or this year—and he's making no secret of it.

The Real Madrid and France forward went into full campaign mode, making his case in an extensive interview with the award's prestigious presenter, France Football, during the same week the publication revealed its nominees for this year's honor.

"I think I can win it this year," Mbappé said. "It's one of my goals, and a near-term one at that."

The Ballon d'Or—broadly regarded as soccer's most coveted individual prize—will be presented at a gala event in London on October 26, following a vote by 100 journalists, one representing each of the top 100 FIFA-ranked nations.

Mbappé, who has never finished higher than third in any previous year, is among the frontrunners for 2026, in what is shaping up to be one of the most competitive races in recent memory, and he is clearly eager to remind voters of the merits of his candidacy.

Mbappé Urges Voters to Consider His Individual Record

"People say I haven't won a [team] trophy," he told France Football. "But it's an individual trophy.

"Being the all-time top scorer in World Cup history, surpassing all the greatest legends the game has ever seen, in the most important tournament sport has ever produced, is extraordinary."

He continued: "Finishing as the leading scorer across all the major competitions, where every top player in the world takes part, is remarkable. I'm not sure it's ever been done before. I believe history should always be acknowledged."

Mbappé went on to emphasize his view that Ballon d'Or voting should prioritize outstanding individual achievement over collective success.

"Of course, there's the team element, and that matters. Football is a team sport. But this is an individual trophy. My understanding of the Ballon d'Or is shaped by the Messi and Ronaldo era," he said. "It's never awarded to ordinary players, only to exceptional ones. And I think I've done something different this year.

"So, I believe I can win it."

The real question remains: Will he?

Did Mbappé Have the Best Season?

Goals

As a striker, Mbappé is judged primarily on goals and, to his credit, he scored a lot in 2025–26.

The 27-year-old netted 25 times in 31 La Liga appearances for Real Madrid to claim his second consecutive Pichichi Trophy (awarded to the division's top scorer). In doing so, he became the first player to win back-to-back top scorer honors in his opening two seasons in Spain since the legendary Mario Kempes in the mid-1970s.

Yet, Mbappé was not the highest scorer across all of European club football last season.

Bayern Munich's Harry Kane—one of Mbappé's primary rivals for the Ballon d'Or—claimed the European Golden Shoe with 36 goals in just 31 Bundesliga appearances. Mbappé actually ranks third for league goals in 2025–26, behind Kane and Erling Haaland (27).

Across all club competitions, Mbappé (42) also falls well short of Kane's remarkable overall tally of 61 goals. However, when it comes to top scorer awards, the picture changes. Mbappé was the Champions League's leading scorer in 2025–26 with 15 goals—a single-season mark previously reached only by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ballon d'Or Frontrunners Goals in 2025–26

At the international level, Mbappé also claimed the World Cup Golden Boot this summer—becoming the first player ever to win it at two separate tournaments—with ten goals in eight matches for France. Though, if one were being particularly critical, two of those goals came in the inconsequential third-place playoff defeat to England.

With 22 goals across three tournaments, he also surpassed Lionel Messi to become the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history.

In total, Mbappé scored 58 goals for club and country during the 2025–26 Ballon d'Or voting period—identical to Haaland's tally and 15 behind rival Kane (73).

Trophies

This is the area Mbappé would rather you not dwell on.

Real Madrid, notably, went a second straight season without adding silverware in 2025–26, finishing as runners-up to Barcelona in La Liga, being knocked out by second-division Albacete in the Copa del Rey last 16, and exiting the Champions League at the quarterfinal stage.

It was, collectively, a season to forget for Madrid, even if Mbappé insisted to France Football that the disappointing campaign was still "enriching".

By May, dressing-room tensions—sometimes physical—had come to define Madrid's season, while an online petition calling for Mbappé's departure from the Bernabéu had attracted millions of signatures.

Despite his best efforts, Mbappé could only lead France to a semifinal exit at the hands of eventual champions Spain at the World Cup.

By contrast, it is difficult to find another serious Ballon d'Or contender on the shortlist who did not taste some form of trophy success in 2025–26.

Kane drove Bayern to a record-breaking Bundesliga title, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia helped deliver a second Champions League triumph, and Rodri, Lamine Yamal and their teammates were crowned world champions in New Jersey in July.

Big Moments

Mbappé invoked the legacies of Messi and Ronaldo—the men who redefined the Ballon d'Or with their individual brilliance—as he urged voters to reward the extraordinary. It's less tangible and harder to measure than goal tallies, but how often was Mbappé truly exceptional in 2025–26?

The Frenchman did score several of the most memorable goals at the World Cup and was named Player of the Match on three occasions during the tournament—only Jude Bellingham and Lionel Messi received more MVP honors.

His club may have fallen short in the Champions League, but Mbappé still netted three times against Bayern across the two quarterfinal legs and was consistently Madrid's standout performer in La Liga.

At full speed, he is among the most thrilling players in the game and a relentless attacking threat, seemingly unfazed by any stage. Whether his individual contribution last season was more impressive than, say, Lamine Yamal—La Liga Player of the Year—or Kane is impossible to determine definitively.

Ultimately, Mbappé was absent from the very biggest moments of last season, simply because he wasn't part of them. That may not be entirely his doing, but it does expose the inherent contradiction of voting for individual awards in a team sport.

You have to go all the way back to 2013 for the last time a Ballon d'Or winner failed to lift major silverware with club or country that same year. Ronaldo's extraordinary goal return carried him over the line amid a three-way split in voting between Messi and Franck Ribery. Mbappé will be hoping history can repeat itself 13 years later.