Kylian Mbappe: ‘No player performed better than me last season’

Kylian Mbappe says he produced the best individual performances of any player last season as he makes his case for the Ballon d’Or.

The Real Madrid forward told L’Equipe: “The Ballon d’Or? There was no player who performed better than me last season.”

Mbappe acknowledged that his goalscoring often attracts more attention than the wider contributions of his team-mates, but argued that finishing chances remains the most valuable part of football.

“It is not disrespectful to say that we sometimes do not pay as much attention to certain positions,” he said. “The centre-forward is always under scrutiny and has to be in the spotlight. I scored goals in matches where my team-mates played better than I did, but scoring goals is the most difficult and valuable thing in football.

“That is why it is normal to receive the glory sometimes and face the opposite at other times.”

Mbappe, who finished last season as the leading scorer in La Liga, the Champions League and the World Cup despite not winning any of those competitions, said he still had areas of his game to improve.

“What more can I offer? Defensively, I can do more to help my team,” he said. “Offensively, I can be more effective. I have the ability to create chances and there are only a few players in Europe who can create as many chances as I do.

“There are only a limited number of places at the top and I do not want to lose mine.”

The France international rejected the idea that last season had been his worst, saying every campaign provided an opportunity to learn.

“Was last season the worst? No. Every season is an experience for us,” he said. “I always try to learn as much as possible, particularly during the times when we do not win.

“Being at Real Madrid is a privilege. It teaches us which areas we need to improve so that we can perform better this season.”

Mbappe also compared the dressing-room cultures at Paris St-Germain and Real Madrid, arguing that arrogance was not exclusive to teams filled with high-profile players.

“Those kinds of people are always in dressing rooms, even ones without stars,” he said. “In my final year at Paris St-Germain, I was the only star. Ousmane Dembele became a real star later.

“People always associate arrogance with stars, but I have seen players whom nobody asked for a photograph or an autograph who were still extremely arrogant. Many people have that arrogance – not just footballers, but even people we do not see, such as employees in administrative offices.”

Mbappe also reflected on his achievements at the World Cup, saying he had struggled to appreciate their significance while competing.

“Considering what I achieved at the World Cup, we were talking about records and scoring that number of goals in major tournaments,” he said. “Becoming the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer was all anyone spoke to me about during my holiday.

“I did not fully understand it because, when you are at the centre of the event, it is difficult to grasp its importance.”

He added that such an achievement could not be credited to one player alone, while highlighting the significance of surpassing Lionel Messi’s record.

“It is difficult to claim a tournament like the World Cup for yourself,” he said. “It is a tournament for the great players, the stars and the best players in the history of the game.

“You tell yourself that, at 24, you have become the player to score the most goals. It is even more incredible because Messi held the record, and taking it from a player many people regard as the greatest in history, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, is extraordinary.”