Kylian Mbappé is only 23 years old, but he is already a regular in the Ballon d’Or ranking. In this year 2022, he represents PSG’s best chance to do well there since Neymar and Messi, reigning winner, are not present in the list of 30. It’s a first for the Argentinian since 2005. After finishing 7th, 4th, 6th then 9th last year, the Frenchman is celebrating his 5th appearance in a row (there was no Ballon d’Or in 2020 because of the covid) in this prestigious final. He will likely be in good stead having been decisive 75 times in 2021/22, but will no doubt leave the reward to compatriot Karim Benzema.
It’s already a great mark of recognition to be there, even if inevitably, he wants more. “Many aspire to join this listhe points out to France Football. *Players don’t often talk about it publicly, but I know it means a lot. To be part of this selection is a real recognition. Inevitably, every year, there are at least a big fifteen (players) for whom there is not too much suspense. But, for the last places, this recognition has a lot of value. Me, I never left the Top 10. It’s the proof that I’m starting little by little to settle in the minds of the jurors…»**
Mbappé thinks of the Ballon d’Or
Whoever will return to competition this evening on the occasion of PSG-Montpellier at the Parc des Princes (2nd day of Ligue 1, 9 p.m.) makes the Ballon d’Or a personal objective in the short and medium term. Like his teammate Messi and his role model when he was younger, Cristiano Ronaldo, he wants to win the most eminent of individual awards in football. He even claims to assume it, where most players are choosy, when it is a regular subject of conversation in a locker room, especially as the ceremony approaches.
“The Ballon d’Or is one of the big events for top players. We write it down in “our” personal calendar and put it in the back of our minds, of course. From now on, I think that I belong to this elite of the potential winners. I believe that I am credible to claim this award., he says. He’s been thinking about it since he was very young. “Faced with this shining trophy, we all become kids again. (…) The Ballon d’Or awakens our childhood dreams in us. We won titles, other awards, but this is the Holy Grail. It’s the ticket to the big world.” And he confesses, he “and I think”.
