Kylian Mbappe: France and Real Madrid star delivers unfazed by 2025 Ballon d'Or outcome – 'I have my own opinions'
Published 09/06/2025 at 13:05 GMT+1
Kylian Mbappe scored as France beat Germany to finish third in the UEFA Nations League and was asked afterwards about his chance of winning the 2025 Ballon d'Or. The Real Madrid star appears to be behind Barcelona's Lamine Yamal and Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele in the current race for the sport's most prestigious prize. Mbappe finished third in the 2023 Ballon d'Or voting.
'I will be fine' - Mbappe nonplussed if he doesn't win Ballon d'Or
Video credit: TNT Sports
Kylian Mbappe says it will be "great" if he wins the 2025 Ballon d’Or - but he will also "be fine" if he misses out on the award.
The 26-year-old is yet to win the Ballon d'Or, coming closest in 2023 when he was third behind Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland.
This year he also looks to be around third in the pecking order behind the two leading contenders; Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele and Barcelona's Lamine Yamal.
Asked about his chances of winning the Ballon d’Or after helping France to a third-place finish at the UEFA Nations League, Real Madrid forward Mbappe said: "I’m not the one who gives out the Ballon d’Or. I have my own opinions, which might be different from others.
"There are votes - around 100 journalists, I think. The only award I can directly influence is the Golden Shoe, because that depends on my feet and my performance on the pitch.
"The Ballon d’Or doesn’t depend on me - there are other factors. If I win it, great. If not, I’ll be fine."
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Mbappe has already won the European Golden Shoe for the first time after scoring 31 league goals in his debut season at Real Madrid.
However, his chances of also winning the Ballon d’Or look as though they will be damaged by not winning any silverware last season.
He did, though, return to scoring form for France in the Nations League semi-finals as he netted his first international goal in almost a year.
"Scoring again feels good, but I wasn’t worried," he said.
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Deschamps would '100 per cent' choose Dembele over Yamal for Ballon d'Or
Video credit: TNT Sports
"I’m one of the top scorers in the history of the French national team. I knew the goals would come back. People talk a lot when I don’t score, and that’s a good sign - it shows the respect I have as a player. When I do score, I’m happy, the team’s happy, and I imagine you’re happy too."
France were beaten in a thrilling nine-goal semi-final by Spain before overcoming Germany in the third-place play-off.
"If I had to summarise the two matches, I’d say we managed to find ways to create chances and put our opponents under pressure," added Mbappe.
"We also succeeded in pressing high up the pitch against both Spain and Germany. We were able to build some good passages of play, and on average, we scored three goals per match. Not bad."
France next play in September when they face Ukraine in their opening 2026 World Cup qualifier.
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