Real Madrid make moves for Mbappé: Ballon d'Or the new obsession | OneFootball

October 26 is marked in red on Real Madrid’s calendar. On that day, at The London Palladium in London, the 2026 Ballon d’Or gala will take place, and the Spanish giants have a special reason to keep a close eye on it: Kylian Mbappé is among the leading candidates for the award.

After the controversy of 2024, when Real Madrid decided not to attend the ceremony after learning that Vinícius Júnior would not win the prize, the club seems to have completely changed its stance.

Now, the objective is different: for Mbappé to win the first Ballon d’Or of his career.

Mbappé has already started his own campaign

The French forward himself took the first step.

During the build-up to Real Madrid’s Champions League debut against Inter Milan, Mbappé spoke openly about his chances and highlighted one of his main arguments.

The Frenchman is referring to his goalscoring record at the World Cup.

With 22 goals, Mbappé became the tournament’s all-time top scorer after playing in three editions.

However, his performance at the 2026 World Cup also leaves a weak point in his candidacy: France finished in fourth place and, in the semifinal against Spain, Mbappé delivered a subdued display and barely managed to create danger.

Goals are his strongest argument

Beyond the World Cup, Mbappé can boast extraordinary goalscoring numbers.

The attacker finished as the Champions League top scorer with 16 goals, although Real Madrid were knocked out in the quarterfinals by Bayern Munich.

That is precisely one of the main points of debate.

Mbappé was able to put up spectacular numbers, but his team failed to win the European competition, and his performances also did not fully show up in the decisive moments.

A candidacy with arguments… and cracks

The Frenchman has two major cards to play in his bid for the award: his historic World Cup scoring record and his spectacular Champions League goal return.

But there are also arguments against him.

France finished fourth at the World Cup, and Real Madrid could not get past the Champions League quarterfinals. In addition, in the biggest matches his impact was less than expected.

In the semifinal against Spain, for example, Pau Cubarsí managed to neutralize much of his threat.

That is why the battle for the Ballon d’Or looks especially open.

Real Madrid want their twelfth

For Real Madrid, the award would carry special meaning.

If Mbappé comes out on top, he would become the twelfth footballer linked to the club to win the Ballon d’Or, although in the cases of Luis Figo, Fabio Cannavaro, Kaká, Michael Owen and Zinedine Zidane, a large part of the merits of their respective seasons came with other teams.

The difference this time is that Madrid have their main candidate within the squad and are ready to back him publicly.

After the fallout of 2024, Los Blancos are looking toward London once again.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.