Kylian Mbappé is not lacking in confidence or arrogance. When questioned this Monday about the Ballon d'Or and his place in the world hierarchy, the Real Madrid striker still considers himself the best player in the world, reminds everyone that he plays for "the best club in the world" , explains that people talk to him about the Ballon d'Or "in the street" and believes he "made a lot of history" during the last World Cup.
These statements come as Mbappé is coming off a blank season , the first real one of his professional career: no trophies with Real Madrid , none with the French national team.
"People talk to me about the Ballon d'Or in the street."
Just weeks before the Ballon d'Or is awarded, Mbappé is openly acknowledging his candidacy: "When you play for Real Madrid, which is the best club in the world, you are naturally associated with this type of award. Of course, many people, when they see me in the street, talk to me about the Ballon d'Or and that's very positive."
The Frenchman also highlighted his World Championship performance: "Of course I made a lot of history in the most important competition in this sport and I have good feelings, but people have the power to choose."
And when asked if he still considers himself the best player in the world: "I still consider myself as such, but it's something very personal and everyone has their own opinion. Not everyone can think like me. This year could be a good year for me to win the Ballon d'Or, but it's the journalists who will vote."
10 goals at the World Cup, but against whom?
Mbappé has a considerable statistical argument: 10 goals in 8 matches at the 2026 World Cup, the Golden Boot and now 22 goals in the World Cup.
However, the details put the raw numbers into perspective. Mbappé scored 2 goals against Senegal , 2 against Iraq, and 2 against Sweden. He failed to score against Norway before netting the only goal against Paraguay in the round of 16 from the penalty spot and then scoring against Morocco in the quarterfinals.
Six of his ten goals were scored against Senegal, Iraq and Sweden, three teams that were not among the tournament favorites.
Most importantly, Mbappé failed to score in France's most crucial match: the 2-0 semi-final loss to Spain. His last two goals came in the third-place match against England, when France were already trailing 4-0 at halftime. Despite his brace, Les Bleus lost 6-4 and finished fourth.
When he claims to have "made a lot of history" at the World Cup, the record deserves to be presented in full: 10 goals, certainly, but 6 against Senegal, Iraq and Sweden, 2 in a lost third-place match and none in the semi-final.
In his letter to the French people after the World Cup , Mbappé himself acknowledged: "We didn't bring home a team trophy. It hurts and it will continue to hurt for a while, I'm not going to lie to you about that. I take the top scorer title with pride, but it would have been so much better with the cup as well."
A wasted season despite a flurry of goals.
Mbappé's season thus presents a dramatic contrast. The Frenchman finished as top scorer in La Liga, the Champions League, and the World Cup, but won none of these three competitions. And most importantly, no other trophy came to salvage his 2025-2026 season.
This is precisely what Michel Platini recently emphasized when discussing the Ballon d'Or . The three-time Ballon d'Or winner believes that " the most effective player is Kylian ," but immediately sums up his problem: "Kylian had a fantastic season, he was the top scorer everywhere, unfortunately they will say that he won nothing."
Platini thus prefers to put "a small bet" on Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, particularly for his role in PSG's European successes. Harry Kane is also among the main candidates for the Ballon d'Or.
"I score more than them": Mbappé responds to comments about Dembélé and Raphinha
When asked about his defensive work and the comparison with Ousmane Dembélé and Raphinha, who are more involved in pressing, Mbappé replied: "Of course we need to improve, it's natural as players. I can play the fool and say that I score more goals than them and that I do things they don't, but it's a debate that will never end."
He continued: "I have to do things intelligently and say that I need to improve, but I don't like to compare myself because I think I do a lot of things that others don't. It's a never-ending debate. We all need to improve in this area. With the ball too."
Since Mbappé's departure, PSG has been racking up trophies.
The reference to Dembélé is particularly pointed. Mbappé left PSG in the summer of 2024 to join Real Madrid, without having managed to win the Champions League with Paris.
Since his departure, PSG have won the next two editions, in 2025 and 2026. Paris have also won two European Super Cups and the 2025 Intercontinental Cup, in addition to their domestic trophies.
PSG have therefore won the Champions League twice in a row, a feat they had never achieved with Mbappé. Meanwhile, the Frenchman has just finished a completely trophyless season with Real Madrid.
When asked about Paris winning without him, Mbappé replied: "The fact that PSG won without me is an analysis and I can't change that, but it doesn't really matter to me. I know how to analyze football and I know why it happened, so I'm very relaxed about it. But in the end, often it's not about analysis, it's simply that talking about me sells a lot of papers."
To summarize, since Mbappé's departure, PSG has won two Champions Leagues, two European Super Cups, and one Intercontinental Cup. Mbappé, on the other hand, is coming off a trophyless season.
"I prefer winning titles"
Mbappé insists, however, that he prioritizes trophies over his statistics: "I'd sign up to score only 30 goals and win titles. It's an absurd debate. I prefer to win titles. If I have to choose between the two, I choose titles, but I still want to score goals. I want to do both."
He scored a lot of goals this season. He didn't win anything.
Regarding the World Cup disappointment, he added: “Not winning the World Cup was difficult. I don’t know if it’s the most difficult because I’ve lost a World Cup final and a Champions League final. I think it was a very positive competition for creating that positive connection with the country. We’ve already won a World Cup and, even if we want to, we can’t always win. The day you lose your hunger is the day you have to stop.”
Ballon d'Or or "Golden Melon"?
Kylian Mbappé's case therefore presents a contrast rarely so marked: top scorer in La Liga, the Champions League and the World Cup, but a completely blank season.
Michel Platini summed it up: "He was the top scorer everywhere, unfortunately they'll say he didn't win anything."
Meanwhile, PSG, the club he left, won two consecutive Champions Leagues and amassed European trophies.
This does not prevent Mbappé from explaining that people talk to him about the Ballon d'Or when they meet him in the street, from claiming to have "made a lot of history" at the World Cup and from continuing to consider himself the best player in the world.
As for the Ballon d'Or, the journalists will decide. For the "Golden Melon," Mbappé has just provided some additional arguments.
