Mbappe Builds Case for Ballon d'Or Despite Trophy Drought

Kylian Mbappe is campaigning hard for the Ballon d'Or ahead of Monday's ceremony in London, even as his season at both club and country concluded without a trophy. The 2025-26 campaign, which the award covers, yielded no silverware for the forward, a gap he is seeking to paper over with a string of individual records. The prize itself carries no cash payment, but it is widely regarded as raising a player's value and standing in the game.

The strongest plank of his case rests on the 2026 World Cup in North America, where he claimed the Golden Boot for a second consecutive tournament and moved to the top of the all-time scoring list at the competition with 22 goals in 22 matches. Lionel Messi sits second on that list with 21 goals, and former Germany forward Miroslav Klose is third with 16. "Being the all-time top scorer in World Cup history, overtaking all the great legends in the history of the sport in the most important tournament there is, is something that really stands out," Mbappe said last month. Asked who he was voting for, he replied: "Myself." He also led the scoring charts in La Liga with 25 goals and in the Champions League with 15, telling reporters: "I was top scorer in all the biggest competitions, and I think that this could be a good year for me, and I really feel it."

The absence of silverware, however, remains the central weakness in his bid. Real Madrid finished second in La Liga and fell to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals, a run that extends a second straight season without a major trophy for the club, which was managed first by Xabi Alonso and then by Alvaro Arrelao. France, meanwhile, placed fourth at the World Cup, losing to Spain in the semifinals and then to England in the third-place playoff. Rivals have been more successful in that respect. Lamine Yamal won the World Cup with Spain and La Liga with Barcelona, while Bayern's Harry Kane collected three trophies last term, including the Bundesliga title.

Mbappe has signaled that he is unfazed by the gap. "They won't announce a team in the envelope; they will announce a player," he told the radio station RFI, adding that the ability to perform individually and produce eye-catching moments is what stands out to people for an award of this kind. His manager, Jose Mourinho, has backed him as well. "We know who has made history this summer, and he's not from PSG or the Spanish national team," Mourinho said.

Historical precedent cuts against him. Over the past decade, every Ballon d'Or winner lifted at least one trophy in the year of the award, including Ousmane Dembele, the 2025 winner, who helped PSG to their first Champions League title, and Rodri, who won Euro 2024 with Spain and the Premier League with Manchester City before being named the winner two years ago. One case does point the other way: Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid won the 2013 award without a major trophy, taking his second Ballon d'Or and ending Messi's four-year winning streak. Ronaldo scored 66 goals for club and country that season, though Portugal failed to progress beyond the 2012 World Cup playoffs and Real were league runners-up. Mbappe has nine nominations and a third-place finish in 2023, a record his supporters argue makes the case for recognition overdue.

Attention now shifts to Monday, when the ceremony takes place in London and the winner is announced.

The Ballon d'Or covers the 2025-26 season, which ran from mid-2025 into mid-2026. Mbappe's campaign included the 2026 World Cup, staged in North America, and the domestic seasons that followed it. No trophy was won by his club or his country during that span.