French legend backs Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe for Ballon d’Or: ‘My favourite’ | OneFootball

With the nominees for this year’s Ballon d’Or finally out, the discussion on who should win it is back as a mainstream media headline.

Real Madrid’s only representative in the World Cup-winning Spanish team was Marc Cucurella, and the defender does not have a strong case by any means.

Kylian Mbappe, however, has shot up as a strong contender to Harry Kane and Lamine Yamal simply for his numbers across all competitions last season. While he did not win the World Cup, he was the top scorer there too.

In fact, the player even publicly endorsed himself as the favourite for the award earlier this week in a headline-making interview.

Henry backs Mbappe

Earlier this week, French legend Thierry Henry was asked who his favourite for this year’s Ballon d’Or was, to which he explained his decision and picked Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe.

Mbappe is a strong candidate for the Ballon d’Or. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

“If Leo Messi had won the World Cup, I think he would have won the Ballon d’Or. And Olise is not far off. But Kylian Mbappe is my favourite. People will tell me he hasn’t won anything,” he began.

Defending his idea on why Mbappe is the best candidate for the Ballon d’Or despite not winning trophies, the former Barcelona legend said,

“People can say Kylian went trophyless, but it has already happened in history.”

“People need to do their research. The Ballon d’Or has been won without any trophies,” he added.

Mbappe did not win any title last season. (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)

Henry then heaped praise on the French forward for his numbers across all competitions and a consistency that very few other players can boast of.

“For me, it’s Kylian. When you see what he’s achieved individually. Top scorer in the Champions League, top scorer in La Liga, top scorer at the World Cup.”

“Michael Olise has the same thing in terms of assists. It’s just insane. I’ll go with Kylian, with Michael Olise not far behind,” he concluded.

Source: CBS Sports Golazo