SME News Balkan. Paris, September 10, 2025 \u2014 Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 has played down his chances of winning the 2025 Ballon d\u2019Or, despite a prolific first season at Real Madrid. The French superstar, who made a high-profile move from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2024, believes this year\u2019s award will go to someone else \u2014 and he\u2019s perfectly at peace with that.With less than two weeks to go until the prestigious ceremony in Paris on September 22, Mbapp\u00e9 is keeping his expectations realistic.> \u201cI can\u2019t win this year,\u201d the 26-year-old told L’\u00c9quipe with a laugh.\u201cI can\u2019t choose between two friends. What matters is that their performances are recognised. And, for both of them, I would be very happy either way.\u201dThe friends he’s referring to are Ousmane Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 and Achraf Hakimi, both former PSG teammates and standout performers in the 2024\/25 season. Both played key roles in Paris Saint-Germain\u2019s historic UEFA Champions League triumph \u2014 a title that has eluded Mbapp\u00e9 throughout his career.While the Ballon d\u2019Or remains a dream for the prolific forward, he maintains there are no regrets about his decision to leave PSG.> \u201cMy story was over, and I left with no regrets,\u201d he said.\u201cEven the things I did wrong are part of my story. When I played there, we came very close \u2014 two semi-finals and one final. We didn\u2019t win, and my time was up.\u201dMbapp\u00e9’s switch to Real Madrid marked the beginning of a new chapter \u2014 one he calls the fulfillment of a lifelong ambition.> \u201cReal Madrid was calling me; it\u2019s always been my dream. I could have left earlier\u2026\u201dDespite falling short in both La Liga and the Champions League with Madrid last season, Mbapp\u00e9 continued to deliver on the pitch, finishing with an impressive individual goal tally and leading from the front for both club and country.Now back on international duty, Mbapp\u00e9 has reunited with a dynamic French squad that includes fellow Ballon d’Or nominees Michael Olise and Desire Dou\u00e9.> \u201cDoes this team have the potential to be the best? 100 percent,\u201d Mbapp\u00e9 said.\u201cWill it be? It\u2019s up to us. Players are arriving younger and younger. We\u2019re no longer afraid to call up a player who\u2019s in his first season or has fewer than 100 professional matches.\u201dFrance has already faced Ukraine and Iceland this month as part of their World Cup qualifying campaign. Their next fixture is scheduled for October 10 against Azerbaijan.As for the Ballon d\u2019Or, while Mbapp\u00e9\u2019s humility might keep him from declaring himself a favorite, the football world will be watching closely to see if this could finally be the year he claims the sport\u2019s most coveted individual prize.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SME News Balkan. Paris, September 10, 2025 \u2014 Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 has played down his chances of winning the 2025 Ballon d\u2019Or, despite a prolific first season at Real Madrid. The French superstar, who made a high-profile move from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2024, believes this year\u2019s award will go to someone else \u2014…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football"],"yoast_head":"\n