Sports

Mbappe Says Ballon d'Or Talk Is Fair After Record-Breaking World Cup Performance

By AFP

Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe has acknowledged that his historic World Cup performance this summer makes him a natural candidate for the Ballon d'Or, football's top individual honor. The France captain scored 10 goals at the tournament to claim the Golden Boot, as his country finished in fourth place. That tally pushed his overall World Cup goal count to 22, making him the competition's all-time leading scorer. Mbappe, 27, has never won the Ballon d'Or.

"When you play for Real Madrid, which is the best club in the world, naturally people associate you with that kind of award, both collective and individual," Mbappe told reporters. "A lot of people, when they see me on the street, talk to me about the Ballon d'Or as a possibility. Of course, I made a lot of history this summer in the most important competition in sport, but we'll see. I have a feeling it's a good year for that, but there's still a long way to go, and people are free to vote for whoever they believe is the best player in the world."

Since arriving at Real Madrid in 2024, Mbappe has scored prolifically, though the club has not secured a major trophy during his tenure. On Tuesday, the 15-time European champions host Inter Milan at the Santiago Bernabeu in their opening Champions League league-phase match.

In his first two seasons in Madrid, the team has often looked unbalanced, with high-profile players such as Mbappe and Brazilian winger Vinicius Junior facing criticism for not contributing enough to overall team play, in contrast to Ousmane Dembele at Paris Saint-Germain and Raphinha at Barcelona.

"We have to improve," Mbappe said. "But I could play dumb and say I score more goals than them, and that they need to score more to be like me. Everyone is different, but I don't like comparisons because I think I contribute things that others don't."

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho recently suggested he would prefer Mbappe score fewer goals if it meant contributing more to collective success. Mbappe responded that he saw no need to choose between individual output and team achievement. "I'd take 30 goals with titles, yes, but for me this is an absurd debate," he said. "I always want to score goals and win titles — you don't have to choose between the two."

Mourinho, who led Inter Milan to Champions League glory in 2010 at the same Bernabeu stadium before later taking charge at Real Madrid, downplayed the emotional weight of facing his former club. "There aren't many people left from my time there, but it will always be a pleasure to see people connected to Inter, before and after the match," he said. "During the game, I want to win, and there won't be time to think about a wonderful past."

Inter's current coach, Cristian Chivu, played in that 2010 final under Mourinho. "Mourinho is a special person, and I was lucky to have encountered him," Chivu said. "There are few like him in the world. He proved it here and at other big clubs. I'm sure Real Madrid will have a great season."

Mourinho is also looking for a response after Real Madrid's first defeat of the season, a 1-0 loss at Real Betis in La Liga on Friday. "I want to win," he said. "I could say I want to play well, but I don't want to repeat the kind of performance we had against Betis and lose again."