Kylian Mbappé's Ballon d'Or Hopes Diminished by Lack of Trophies

Kylian Mbappé spent the summer in North America looking every inch the heir to football’s throne. Eight goals, a semi-final run, the familiar sense that when the ball found him, anything could happen. For a while, it felt like he had kicked the Ballon d’Or door clean off its hinges.

Then Spain shut it in his face.

France’s exit in the last four has not only cut short another shot at global glory, it has also stripped away the one thing Mbappé needed most this year: a defining trophy. Real Madrid’s 2025-26 campaign ended the same way as the one before it – without a major title. For a player of his stature, that’s not just a frustration. It’s a problem in the Ballon d’Or race.

Mbappé’s brilliance, without the prizes

On a personal level, Mbappé delivered what he always does. Goals in bunches. Big moments. Long stretches where he simply carried Madrid. Jérémie Aliadière, speaking to GOAL in association with Betinia NJ, made that point clearly: the Frenchman’s numbers and influence were “ridiculous”, his season “fantastic”.

But this is the Ballon d’Or. The rules at the top are brutal and simple.

“You've got to win, Champions League or World Cup or Euros,” Aliadière said. Mbappé did none of that. No Champions League with Madrid, no World Cup with France. In this particular election, individual genius without a trophy is a beautiful losing argument.

Aliadière doesn’t see a way around it. Asked if Mbappé’s barren run in the Ballon d’Or stakes is set to continue, he didn’t hesitate: “Yeah, I think so.” In another season, with a medal around his neck, the conversation might be different. In this one, it isn’t.

Harry Kane falls into the same trap. A prolific year, a leading role, but no ultimate prize with England. “It’s a shame because I thought Harry Kane would have had a good shot if England went all the way as well,” Aliadière admitted. They didn’t. His chance went with them.

Messi, again, at the centre of it all

While Mbappé and Kane are left counting near-misses, Lionel Messi has quietly – or not so quietly – repositioned himself at the heart of the Ballon d’Or debate. At 39, playing his club football in MLS with Inter Miami, he was supposed to be drifting into the sunset. Instead, he’s chasing the light.

Messi has driven Argentina to yet another World Cup final, scoring eight times along the way. He has the chance to defend the crown won in Qatar 2022, and to do it against Spain. One more masterclass on that stage and a ninth Golden Ball could very easily be heading his way.

Aliadière can see where this is going. “I think it’ll probably be one of Argentina,” he said. And if Messi lifts the World Cup again, he knows how the global reaction will look: “I think everybody's just going to be mesmerised by the age and what he's produced at the World Cup and forget that he plays in MLS for Inter Miami.”

That last line cuts to the heart of the matter. The Ballon d’Or is not a reward for the toughest domestic league or the deepest club squad. It is a story award. And Messi’s story, even now, is irresistible.

MLS trophies, World Cup magic

Messi hasn’t just been coasting between international breaks. In North America, he has turned Inter Miami into a trophy-winning side, lifting MLS Cup and taking MVP honours in the 2025 campaign. The league may not carry the same weight as Europe’s elite competitions, but voters will see a 39-year-old still dominating, still deciding titles.

Then there’s the national team. England learned the hard way in Atlanta, where Messi’s Argentina edged them out in a dramatic semi-final. Another major tournament, another knockout game, another night that bent around the No.10 in white and sky blue.

More moments like that, and “another Golden Ball cannot be ruled out” feels like an understatement.

Former Brazil international and World Cup winner Kleberson has already nailed his colours to the mast. Speaking to GOAL, he was emphatic about Messi’s enduring impact: “Wow! That guy never stops!” he said, adding that Argentina “has more chance of winning the World Cup with Messi than any other country, just because Messi is still playing at a good level.”

The comparison with Cristiano Ronaldo is unavoidable. Kleberson drew it himself. Ronaldo, he pointed out, is still performing, but the supporting cast around him with Portugal is not on the same level as Messi’s Argentina. “It’s purity,” he said of the Albiceleste. The quality and balance in Lionel Scaloni’s squad give Messi a platform Ronaldo no longer enjoys.

“That’s why Messi has a lot of chance,” Kleberson argued. If Messi wins another World Cup, his view is blunt: “100 per cent he’s going to be up to win the Ballon d’Or again.”

A race that keeps circling back to Messi

Even in Brazil, Kleberson insists, players and fans are drawn to Messi’s artistry. They want to see “good players win the Ballon d’Or and the World Cup – players that are a joy to see play. Messi is one of those.”

So the landscape is clear. Mbappé dazzled but came up short where it matters most to voters. Kane suffered the same fate. Messi, against every conventional career arc, has stacked trophies, numbers and narrative at 39, and stands one win from another World Cup and a likely ninth Ballon d’Or.

The torch was supposed to have changed hands by now. Instead, the football world is left to ask a familiar question: how do you wrest the game’s biggest individual prize away from a man who refuses to let his era end?