Video: Mbappé declares 2026 his Ballon d’Or year
Kylian Mbappé
Abdullateef Fowewe
Kylian Mbappé has staked a bold claim for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, saying that he believes this could be his year to win football’s most prestigious individual prize.
The 27-year-old Real Madrid forward points to his record 22 World Cup goals and his status as top scorer in the tournament’s history as central to his case, arguing that “making history should always be rewarded.”
He also highlights being the top scorer in the “biggest competitions, where the best players play, the UCL, the World Cup,” suggesting that no one may have done it before in the same way.
Coming off a season in which he scored 42 club goals for Real Madrid, Mbappé frames his campaign as one grounded in sustained individual excellence at the highest level.
Mbappé is unapologetic about his self-belief, telling the interviewer, “Who would I vote for the Ballon d’Or? I’d vote for myself.”
He stresses that the prize is fundamentally about individual performance, “It’s an individual award award, we need to see what the player did individually.”
Addressing critics who point to trophy droughts or imperfect seasons, he says, “People saying I went trophyless? I’ve never seen a single Ballon d’Or winner that ticked every single box of the criteria.”
Acknowledging that the award is decided by journalists and will never be unanimous, Mbappé notes, “Has any player ever won the Ballon d’Or unanimously? No. Which means there’s always someone who thought the player doesn’t deserve it.”
Still, he insists his résumé makes him a legitimate winner, “So when you look at my arguments, when you look at what the other players did this year, I’d say yeah, I wouldn’t be robbing anybody if I win it.”
He added, “But I understand people who disagree, this is not a dictatorship.”
The interview lands just weeks before the October 26 Ballon d’Or ceremony, with Mbappé positioning himself as a leading contender despite early bookmaker lists that currently favor Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane.
By coupling his World Cup scoring records with another high-output club season at Real Madrid, Mbappé is making a clear pitch to voters: that history-makers deserve the trophy even in a subjective process.
