France International Kylian Mbappe has said that playing in the Ligue 1 is the reason why he has not won the prestigious Ballon d’Or award.
The Frenchman feels that he is plying his trade in a league that does not command the interest of fans and that won’t help him to win the Ballon d’Or.
Kylian Mbappe speaking on why he has not won the Ballon d’Or
Mbappe said that people underrate his performances because they are used to seeing him perform the way he has been performing across France.
The 24-year-old France international said: “Do people trivialize my performances? Yes, but at the same time I don’t blame them.”
“In France, people have seen me grow up, they see me all the time, at PSG every weekend or with the national team.
“And I’ve been scoring a lot of goals for years. So, for people, it’s becoming normal. I’ve never complained about my performances being trivialized.”
Kylian Mbappe, whose future currently lies in uncertainty, made 43 appearances for PSG last term, scoring 41 goals and providing 10 assists.
The 24-year-old broke a 65-year-old French scoring record last season as he netted 54 goals in a single campaign.
Fontaine was the previous holder of that record when he scored 53 goals in the 1957/58 season for club and country.
Mbappe is the second top-scorer for last season
Mbappe is also the second top-scorer in Europe in the 2022/23 season, behind Norway and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.
However, in spite of these magnificent numbers, Kylian Mbappe’s amazing output has been belittled.
Mbappe has finished in the top 10 of the Ballon d’Or rankings 5 seasons in a row but he hasn’t been able to crack the top 2.
There have been several agitations concerning Erling Haaland winning the Ballon d’Or due to his monstrous 2022/23 season but the Frenchman doesn’t enjoy equal share of agitation.
Anyway, looking forward to the award for the 2022/23 season, Mbappe will have to compete against favorites Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi for the gong.
Haaland helped Manchester City win the treble, scoring 52 goals and providing 9 assists in 53 appearances across all competitions.
Lionel Messi scored 21 goals and provided 20 assists in 41 appearances for Paris Saint Germain.
He won the Ligue 1 and the Trophée des Champions with PSG, but internationally he led Argentina to World Cup glory.
Kylian Mbappe definitely isn’t a favorite for the award in 2023 due to the individuals he is contesting against.
However, if Lionel Messi is eyeing a chance at winning the crown, then the France international also has a fair shot for the award.
Kylian Mbappe had a better output than Lionel Messi in the 2022/23 Ligue 1 season
Kylian Mbappe had a better output compared to the Argentine in terms of output and if the organisers of the award takes into consideration individual performances then Mbappe is better than Messi.
Both players were plying their trade in the Ligue 1 last term, but it appears their international performances would put one over the other.
Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe both battled till the final of the world cup and if it’s based on individual performances both were seemingly at par.
Lionel Messi won the World Cup Golden ball while Mbappe won the World Cup Golden boot.
Messi scored 7 goals at the 2022 FIFA World Cup while Kylian Mbappe scored 8 goals.
How many players have won the Ballon d’Or whilst playing in the Ligue 1?
Only 2 players have won the Ballon d’Or whilst playing in the Ligue 1 and they are Lionel Messi and Jean-Pierre Papin.
Messi’s performances at Barcelona won him the Ballon d’Or in 2021 but he received the award while playing for Paris Saint Germain.
Jean-Philippe Papin also won the award in 1991 due to his performances as an Olympique Marseille player.
Papin scored 36 goals and provided 4 assists in 50 appearances across all competitions in the season he won the award.
Papin won only the Ligue 1 during the 1990/91 season but that was enough for him to win the Ballon d’Or.
It is unknown whether Mbappe will win the Ballon d’Or for the 2022/23 season as he isn’t a clear favorite for the prize.
However, does the Frenchman have a fair shot at winning the gong this year and if he does win it, would he have deserved it? Most definitely!
