‘Never talk about the Ballon d’Or’ - ‘Selfish’ Kylian Mbappe compared with in-form Barcelona star Raphinha as Real Madrid ‘Galactico’ argues his Golden Ball case

The France international frontman has enjoyed another memorable year. He plundered 42 goals for Real last season, winning him a second top scorer gong in La Liga, and rewrote the record books when representing his country at the 2026 World Cup.

Mbappe is now his nation’s all-time leading marksman, with 66 efforts to his name, and nobody has found the target on more occasions at FIFA’s flagship event - with a stunning overall tally at that tournament being taken to 22 and counting.

Major silverware has, however, proved hard to come by for Mbappe. With that in mind, another slide down the Ballon d’Or voting chart is being predicted - as the cream of Harry Kane, Rodri, Lamine Yamal and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia rises to the top.

France’s talismanic captain has spoken in public about why he thinks the title of ‘best player on the planet’ should be passed in his direction, but said comments may fall on deaf ears. The 27-year-old striker has been advised to focus more on collective ambition, much like Clasico rival Raphinha - with 14 goals to his name this season - is doing at Camp Nou.

Ex-France international Leboeuf, who was speaking in association with Mr Gamble, told GOAL when asked if Ballon d’Or snubs will fire Mbappe up: "Nobody can say Raphinha is a better number nine than Kylian Mbappe because this is the first time Raphinha is playing as a number nine, whereas Mbappe has been playing as a number nine and consistently scoring goals for almost 10 years.

“However, everything Mbappe does on the field feels like it's for himself, whereas with Raphinha, you feel everything he does is for the team. That's the problem. When Mbappe says he wants to win the Ballon d'Or, that says it all. That is my concern. You should never talk about the Ballon d'Or like that. Going into the media to express his wish and willingness to win the Ballon d'Or is annoying because it proves his critics right.

"They think he's selfish, and he is showing that. Real Madrid isn't playing well or winning games, yet he's talking about the Ballon d'Or. No, start winning games and scoring goals with your team.

"Express that you want to win La Liga and the Champions League. Stop talking about the Ballon d'Or, it's not important. People might say I'm jealous because I didn't win the Ballon d'Or, but I'm fine. I'm fond of Kylian Mbappe, but sometimes when he talks to the media, it's not good for his image.”

If Mbappe is to land an elusive Ballon d’Or at some stage, then he may need a Champions League triumph to aid that cause. He has been left watching on from afar as former employers Paris Saint-Germain have gone back-to-back in that department.

Real, who are now working under returning ‘Special One’ Jose Mourinho, have not looked entirely convincing early on in the 2026-27 campaign. Taking that into account, a 16th European Cup may prove difficult to chase down for the Blancos.

Leboeuf added: “Real Madrid in the Champions League, it’s too early to say. We saw Paris Saint-Germain struggle in the beginning of the season in Ligue 1 and the Champions League over the past two years, only to wake up around December and dominate everyone.

“Hopefully Mourinho will find the solution to make the team better. At the weekend in the derby, I didn't understand how Atletico Madrid finished the game with 11 players and Real Madrid with 10. I understand why their player got sent off, but there were two red-card-worthy fouls from Atletico Madrid. I agree with Mourinho, you don't even need a post-match press conference, just show the pictures and that says it all.

“VAR officials in England, France, and Spain need to wake up because it's not working. We knew when Mourinho came in that it would take time to settle down, and we don't know yet if it's going to work. With the egos in the dressing room and the mentality of the players, even for someone with a strong character like Mourinho, it's going to be very difficult to fix what is going wrong at Real Madrid.

“Barcelona has a culture of playing together that has been there since Johan Cruyff or even before. For 50 or 60 years at Barcelona, the main principle has been to play together, despite having individual talent. [Pep] Guardiola maintained that, [Ronald] Koeman maintained that, and Hansi Flick does that now. Even if they don't focus as much on defending, they score so many goals that it's impossible to cope with them. That's a beautiful, entertaining game.

“We know Mourinho wants to play a different style. When he came back in 2013, he changed the mentality and made Real Madrid win by being tough and aggressive, which is acceptable in football.

“It takes time to return to that mindset, and I don't know if Mourinho is capable of repeating what he did in 2013. Hopefully for him, Real Madrid, and the fans, he can. But I have my doubts given the current generation of players he has, as it's hard to change that selfish mindset.”

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