Kylian Mbappé supports Ousmane Dembélé for the Ballon d'Or, without having said his last word

"I vote for Dembélé." They are not the ones voting, but football players and coaches have largely engaged in lobbying for the next Ballon d'Or. A few days after the coaches of the French and Spanish teams, Didier Deschamps and Luis de la Fuente, defended the chances of their respective players, Ousmane Dembélé and Lamine Yamal, for this trophy rewarding the "best player of the season", Kylian Mbappé in turn gave his opinion. Two days after the spectacular defeat of his team against the Roja (4-5), and on the eve of the small final of the League of Nations, Sunday against Germany (3 p.m.), the captain of the French men's football team was asked, Saturday June 7, about his favorite candidate, him that the club Real Madrid places among the candidates. "Right now, we're talking about Lamine Yamal and Ousmane Dembélé, but I'm voting for Dembélé, that's very clear."

The Real Madrid striker, whose speech was highly anticipated, later qualified his remarks, not completely ruling out his own chances, having finished the season as "pichichi" (top scorer in the Spanish league) and European Golden Shoe (top scorer on the continent, according to a scale ranking the leagues by difficulty), and is competing – like Ousmane Dembélé's Paris Saint-Germain – in the new Club World Cup (from June 15 to July 13, in the United States). "Things are changing very quickly, the last winners have shown it, players we didn't talk about have won," elaborated the French striker, who on Thursday became the best passer in the history of the Blues (31 assists).

A clear favorite last year, after leading Real to the Champions League title, his Brazilian teammate Vinicius Jr can attest to this, beaten in the nick of time by the Spaniard Rodri . "The Ballon d'Or is in September, and a lot will happen between now and then. But today, we're talking about Ousmane and Lamine, and that's why I responded like that," concluded Kylian Mbappé.

Before playing, on Sunday, a match "of relative interest all the same" , according to the French technician, Didier Deschamps - not qualified for the final of the League of Nations, the Blues should carry out a review of the squad against Germany -, the French captain was also asked about the consecration of PSG in the Champions League. A club that he left in the summer of 2024 to join the White House of Madrid. "I was happy, I think they deserve it, they have had so many years where they struggled. I have experienced that too, I have done all the stages of the Champions League in Paris except the victory , highlighted Kylian Mbappé. They deserved it 100%, they are the best team in Europe."

The man who could reach the 50-goal mark for the French team on Sunday (he has 49) was very clear when asked if he had any regrets about leaving Paris before this victory. "I didn't leave too soon, my story with PSG was over. I have no bitterness, I had reached the end of the road ," he said. "I tried everything and it was fate that meant it had to happen without me."

While he dismissed the term "blank season" to describe his first season in Madrid, without a major trophy—other than the title of top scorer in the Spanish La Liga—Kylian Mbappé insisted on the "challenges" that await him. "PSG winning the Champions League without me doesn't affect me. It's a good thing. In a career, we all have challenges, I'm a little more in the eye of the storm, which is good, I've always liked being in these positions, it's up to me to work." After the lesson he suffered on Thursday against Spain—which the final scoreboard barely conceals—the captain of Les Bleus has the opportunity, on Sunday against the Mannschaft, to revive his team and the incessant debates over the best player of the season in a team sport. In the absence of Ousmane Dembélé, who left the French squad due to injury.