Thierry Henry has backed his compatriot Kylian Mbappé to win the Ballon d’Or over favourite Harry Kane.
Mbappé is yet to win the most prestigious individual prize in men’s football — which Henry said should change this year, after the 27-year-old scored 25 goals in LaLiga and 15 in the Champions League last term.
“It’s Kylian Mbappé,” he said. “And yes, people will tell me that he didn’t win anything. I think it happened in history. I think some people need to do their research on that one.”
“But for me, it’s Kylian. When you see what he has achieved individually … Top goal scorer in the Champions League, top goal scorer in LaLiga and also the World Cup. Michael Olise has the same thing in terms of assists.”
Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise is ahead of his teammate Kane this year in Henry’s estimation.
“I just wanted to explain that there are a lot of people that are candidates and they’re not like Mickey Mouse candidates, in all fairness,” Henry said. “But I will personally go with Mbappé. Michael Olise, close.
He mentioned Rodri, Lamine Yamal, Erling Haaland and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as strong players who just fall short — and that Lionel Messi would have scooped the award for the ninth time if Argentina had defended their World Cup crown.
“And I think if they won the World Cup, I think they would have brought the Ballon d’Or to him,” he said.
While Kane hit 36 goals in the Bundesliga last season, Olise scored 15 of his own to complement 21 assists in the German top flight.
“It’s not as easy as it was last year,” he said, when he backed eventual winner Ousmane Dembélé. “I think this year is a bit more complicated … Harry Kane, it’s not me, but the best player in Germany last year was Michael Olise.”
“If you ask people in England who had the best World Cup, they would say Jude Bellingham … You would say that maybe that his season wasn’t too great at Madrid.”
Earlier in the week, Mbappé was bullish when asked if he is the best player in the world.
“Everyone has their own opinion. Some people here will think so, and others won’t. Not everyone has to think like me,” the Real Madrid man said before their 2-1 Champions League win over Inter Milan, in which he opened the scoring — and was presented with the top scorer’s trophy from last season.
“This year might be a good one to win the Ballon d’Or, but it’s voted on by journalists, and they’ll choose.” –ESPN
