Kylian Mbappé said it himself. He has “hit rock bottom” at the beginning of December, sportingly, with this missed penalty on the field of Athletic Bilbao, his second consecutive failure after that committed in Liverpool. And the craziest thing about all of this is that nothing prevents the Bondynois from hoping to experience a historic season.
Thus, Mbappé remains completely in the race for the 2025 Ballon d’Or. If we had to take stock of the trend at mid-season, we would say that Mohamed Salah has taken a good lead thanks to the impressive course of Liverpool, and to his individual performances. But it is not at this time of the season that the Ballon d’Or is won.
Yes, Mbappé can win the Ballon d’Or
Taking a look at the English bookmakers, we see that the ballot looks set to be open. At the moment, the favorite is Vinicius Jr. Salah arrives next, with a short lead over a small group where we find Mbappé, Lamine Yamal and Erling Haaland. So, even if the Norwegian is also going through a bad patch, we give him enough time and talent to get back on track.
In reality, in a year like this, without a World Cup, without Euro or Copa America, the Champions League is the main competition where you have to shine for the Ballon d’Or. So even if Liverpool are off to a better start, absolutely nothing is being done for the Reds. And if Mbappé were to win the Champions League with Real, he would undoubtedly be fighting with Vinicius for the Ballon d’Or. There is nothing utopian about this scenario.
