According to Kylian Mbappe, he should be considered for the 2023 Ballon d’Or award.
Mbappe surpassed Just Fontaine’s record of 54 goals for club and country in 1957–1958 after scoring the game-winning goal for France in their 1-0 victory against Greece on Monday. Mbappe now holds the record for the most goals scored by a French player in a season in France.
The 25-year-old Mbappe contributed to Paris Saint-Germain retaining the Ligue 1 crown this year and also made an impression in the World Cup, when he won the Golden Boot and scored three goals in the championship match against eventual champions Argentina.
Mbappe shared his thoughts on this, “It’s always difficult to talk about an individual trophy, because you have to put yourself forward on your own and that’s something that doesn’t necessarily pass in the eyes of the general public. The new criteria, it’s about burning eyes, it’s someone who has had an impact. I think I correspond to these criteria, so I would say… yes. But we’ll see.”
For this year’s award, the PSG forward will face off against Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland.
After helping Argentina win the World Cup, Messi was crowned the tournament’s best player. Haaland helped Manchester City win an unprecedented triple in his first season there with 52 goals.
This summer, Mbappe’s future remains uncertain as the forward informed PSG in a letter that he had no intention of extending his deal, which expires in 2024.
Despite several rumors that Real Madrid is interested in acquiring him this summer, Mbappe stated that he plans to remain in France for the 2019–20 campaign.
