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Real Madrid are throwing their full support behind a public campaign for Kylian Mbappe to win the Ballon d’Or, even though he is not widely viewed as one of the leading contenders.

Spain may have lifted the World Cup this year, but notably did so without a single Real Madrid player in their squad. As a result, those at Madrid appear to have set aside any sense of national allegiance and are instead firmly backing Mbappe for football’s top individual honour.

Harry Kane and Lamine Yamal are among the frontrunners for the award, having also actually won silverware with their respective teams.

A season without trophies for Real Madrid, combined with France’s failure to win the World Cup, has weakened Mbappe’s case when it comes to persuading everyone that he deserves to win this year’s Ballon d’Or.

Even so, there are still plenty prepared to make the argument in his favour after his inclusion on the 30-man shortlist was confirmed.

The central points in Mbappe’s favour are that he finished as the World Cup’s top scorer — not just for the 2026 edition, but now in the competition’s all-time charts as well — and also ended last season as the Champions League’s leading scorer.

On pure individual quality, he has unquestionably produced. But trophies carry major weight in Ballon d’Or voting, especially in a year featuring an international tournament, which is why Mbappe’s bid may ultimately fail to convince enough people.

Unless, of course, the people championing him manage to shift the mood.

“The best players in the world, there are two, three or four of them, and we know who they are: they’re here,” Mourinho said towards the end of August.

“For me, there is one who, individually, made history this summer.

“You cannot give the Ballon d’Or to a player simply because he won the Champions League or the World Cup. The Ballon d’Or should go to one of those players who, when they retire, will be missed for ever. Maradona, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo Nazario, Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, Zidane…

“If we want to reward the Champions League, then give it to Luis Enrique. For the Spanish national team, give it to [Luis] de la Fuente. The best player in the world is something else and he is neither at PSG nor in the Spain team.”

Classic Jose. At this stage, he is hardly going to change. For all the times he criticises some of his own players, he gives his full backing to the ones he truly believes in.

And after returning to Madrid, Mourinho has wasted little time in understanding exactly which side he needs to be on.

To be fair to him, he does make a valid point: simply being part of a team that wins one of the biggest competitions does not automatically make a player an all-time great. Or at least, it should not.

Think back to when Jorginho surged into third place in the 2021 Ballon d’Or standings because he had won the Champions League and the Euros. He was a very good player, but not really operating at that level — more a case of being in the right place at the right time.

Mbappe has always wanted to be mentioned alongside the legendary names Mourinho listed, and he is closer than most to deserving that company. But he still lacks the Ballon d’Or — or several of them — that all of those icons possess.

“For me, Kylian Mbappé should win the Ballon d’Or,” Konate said on the day of Real Madrid’s opening Champions League match of 2026-27 against Inter Milan.

“To be honest, in the dressing room we don’t talk about the Ballon d’Or, at all.”

They may not discuss it openly, but clearly the message has reached you, hasn’t it, Ibou?

As another French player now at Real Madrid, it is easy to understand why Konate would lean towards Mbappe, even if they have only been team-mates at club level for a matter of weeks.

After all, none of his former Liverpool team-mates appear to have a stronger case this year.

“It’s Kylian Mbappe,” Henry said while working as a pundit for CBS on Tuesday. “And yes, people will tell me that he didn’t win anything. I think it happened in history. I think some people need to do their research on that one.

“But for me, it’s Kylian. When you see what he has achieved individually… Top goal scorer in the Champions League, top goal scorer in LaLiga and also the World Cup. Michael Olise has the same thing in terms of assists.

“I just wanted to explain that there are a lot of people that are candidates and they’re not like Mickey Mouse candidates, in all fairness. But I will personally go with [Mbappe]. Michael Olise, close.

“It’s not as easy as it was last year. I think this year is a bit more complicated… Harry Kane, it’s not me, but the best player in Germany last year was Michael Olise.

“If you ask people in England who had the best World Cup, they would say Jude Bellingham… You would say that maybe that his season wasn’t too great at Madrid.”

Henry himself once finished runner-up in the Ballon d’Or voting, and remains one of the finest players of the modern era never to have won the award.

There is clearly a degree of French bias in Henry’s selections, as shown not only by his support for Mbappe but also by his mention of Olise — much like his backing last year for eventual winner Ousmane Dembele.

“I’m still drawn in by Mbappe’s portfolio of 58 goals for club and country,” wrote The Athletic’s Taylor in a piece in which one of their journalists argued the case for each of the principal contenders. “Which player put together a greater showreel in the World Cup? Whose goals will live longer in the memory?

“Call me old-fashioned, but I want the Ballon d’Or to go to the most consistently thrilling player, the guy you can’t take your eyes off. The showman. Lionel Messi used to be that player. Cristiano Ronaldo, too.

“Kane might win the numbers game and — surprise — Bayern might have bagged their umpteenth Bundesliga title in a row. But it is the presence of Mbappe, more than anybody else, that would make me quicken my step outside a football stadium and that shouldn’t be underestimated now that the Messi-Ronaldo dominance of this award is no more.”

Last year’s winner has not explicitly said that Mbappe should succeed him, but when asked by L’Equipe he did include the Real Madrid forward in his personal three-man shortlist.

The other two names were his PSG team-mate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and the widely favoured neutral choice, Kane.

Dembele made it clear that his three selections were not ranked in any particular order, although he did say he expected a PSG player to come out on top.

“I think when you play for Real Madrid, the best club in the world, people associate you with this award.

“There are many people that speak about me and the Ballon d’Or. Of course I’ve made history in the most important competition. Maybe it’s a good year for this but people can vote according to what they think.

“I always think I’m the best [player in the world] but everyone has their own opinion.

“Maybe people think different ways. I don’t think it’s a discussion we need to have.

“Of course this year could be good for me to win the Ballon d’Or. But journalists vote.”

If you cannot back yourself, then who will?