Mbappe backed for Ballon d’Or as confidence sparks debate

Kylian Mbappe’s confidence in his chances of winning the Ballon d’Or has fuelled debate, with former Morocco manager Walid Regragui defending the Real Madrid forward’s comments.

The race for this year’s award has already begun to attract attention, with Mbappe emerging as a leading contender after receiving public backing from his former coach Jose Mourinho. Mourinho named him among his main candidates alongside Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham.

Mbappe has spoken openly about his prospects, saying he believes the current year could be the right time for him to claim the individual prize. However, he also acknowledged that the final decision rests with the voters.

“When you play for the best club in the world, people automatically associate you with these awards, both team and individual,” Mbappe said.

“Many people speak to me in the street about the Ballon d’Or and mention me as a potential winner. It is an award that represents a major achievement for any player.”

The Real Madrid forward added: “I made a lot of history this summer in the most important sporting competition, but we will see what happens.

“I have a feeling this is the right year to win it, but there is still plenty of time, and people are free to vote for whoever they believe is the best player in the world.”

Those remarks prompted criticism from some of Real Madrid’s opponents, who interpreted Mbappe’s self-belief as arrogance. Regragui, however, said the player had been honest rather than conceited.

“Why should he be hypocritical like some players and say he wants to win it, while not believing he deserves it?” Regragui said.

“At least he is honest and believes in himself. Whether he deserves the award or not is a separate matter.”

Regragui also argued that the contest was unusually open, making it difficult to predict who would eventually claim the prize.

“It will be very difficult to predict the winner this year,” he said. “Everyone is competing and believes this is the year they can win it.

“Alongside Mbappe, there is Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, Fabian Ruiz and many others.”

The former Morocco manager said Mbappe had no reason to conceal his ambition or pretend he did not want the award, provided he genuinely believed he could win it.

In Regragui’s view, acknowledging that ambition is preferable to diplomatic answers that disguise a player’s real desire to be recognised as the world’s best.