Jean-Pierre Papin doubts Kylian Mbappe’s Ballon d’Or bid

Former Ballon d’Or winner Jean-Pierre Papin does not believe Kylian Mbappe should win the 2026 award, arguing that the Real Madrid striker’s media campaign has worked against him.

Papin praised Mbappe’s record-breaking ability but criticised the way he has spoken about the prize. “Kylian, I really like him, he is a man of records. But at some point, it is me, me, me and me,” he told France Télévisions.

He added that players cannot simply declare they deserve the Ballon d’Or, saying the award should be decided by others. “At some point, in his communication, it was: ‘No one else but me deserves the Ballon d’Or.’ It was a bit too much for me,” Papin said.

The 1991 winner believes Mbappe falls short on the fair-play criterion. “Today, when you look at how the Ballon d’Or is awarded, there are lots of criteria. Everything else is fine, but that criterion regarding Kylian does not work,” he said.

Papin instead backed Harry Kane, who scored 73 goals in the year, including 61 for Bayern Munich and 12 for England. “He is classy in his communication, there is not one wrong word. He is only there for football, and it is a pleasure to see,” he said.