2023-06-20 21:11:00
This time, the season is over, the die is cast and since, from now on, the Ballon d’Or is judged on a season and no longer on a calendar year, it is time to open the debate. Kylian Mbappé cleverly launched his campaign on TF1 on Monday after scoring his 54th goal since the opening of the debates in August. No one has done better except Erling Haaland (double scorer with Norway against Cyprus on Tuesday) who is therefore ahead of the Parisian by two goals (56).
This massive figure, his title as top scorer in the World Cup and his hat-trick in the final are Mbappé’s best arguments in this race for the supreme trophy. Asked whether he deserves it, the vice-world champion, as usual, plays the franchise on TF1: “The new criteria, it’s burning the retina, he’s someone who has been impactful…I think I fit those criteria, so I would say…yes. But we’ll see.” Indeed, “individual performance” and the “decisive and impressive character of the contenders” are now the main award criteria.
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Kylian Mbappé presents the Women’s Ballon d’Or to Alexia Putellas
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Naturally favorite
As such, Mbappé naturally enters among the favorites. His 54 goals draw his influence in a season where he scored from the first game to the last. He deserves the 2023 Ballon d’Or because he fulfills the criteria perfectly. But the question is whether others deserve it more than him.
And this is where things get tough for Kylian Mbappé. His year is gigantic but that of Erling Haaland is at least as much. The Norwegian has a disability, he did not participate in the World Cup. But he also has a master asset which illustrates, by mirror effect, the limit of Mbappé in this race: his record. Premier League – Cup – Champions League: Haaland, in addition to having scored as many goals as the Parisian, scored a hat-trick that made an impression.
Palmarès: Advantage Haaland
“The collective aspect and the trophies won” appear as the second criterion for the Ballon d’Or and could tip the ballot in favor of the City striker. Charismatic, he embodies the success of his club and even if Rodri could collect a few votes, the top scorer of the C1 season (12 goals) is not really exposed to the scattering of votes. From an individual and collective point of view, Haaland is the absolute reference of the season. But he lacked impact in the big meetings of his season. His quintuplet in the round of 16 will not hide his limits in the semi-finals and final of the C1. Mbappé, he disappeared in the round of 16 and his only title of champion of France will not be enough to support the comparison.
Manchester City’s Norwegian striker Erling Haaland (L), Manchester City’s Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson (C) and Manchester City’s Algerian midfielder Riyad Mahrez celebrate with the European Cup and the Premier League trophy on stage following an open-top
Credit: Getty Images
He still has a chance: that the voters, year of the World Cup obliges, privilege the achievements of Qatar. So Mbappé can get ahead of Haaland. But another man threatens him and, no doubt in even greater proportions: Lionel Messi, of course. If the World Cup dictates the winners of this Ballon d’Or 2023, then why would Kylian Mbappé be preferred to Lionel Messi? Like the Frenchman, the Argentinian carried his selection as no one had done for 20 years and Ronaldo with Brazil.
World Cup: Messi advantage
Like the Frenchman, he marked the tournament, of which he was voted best player, and the final with his mark (doubled) to become the first player in history to score in the 8th, quarter, half and final. Like the Frenchman, he signed iconic gestures that entire generations will remember (his assist against Croatia, his goal against Mexico). But in addition, and this is the main thing, he won the trophy. Unlike Haaland’s European campaign or Mbappé’s World Cup campaign, Messi’s in Qatar has no limits, no asterisks.
Of course, these last six months at PSG, ended with whistles, damage his candidacy. But his collective club record is the same as that of his attacking partner in Paris. And the natural aura of the Argentinian, who has already won the trophy 7 times, makes him, by nature, a formidable candidate. Crowned with the title of world champion and while he holds there the last opportunity to shine in this classification, Messi will be extremely difficult to beat. So yes, given his gigantic season, Mbappé deserves the 2023 Ballon d’Or and he is right to say it loud and clear. Except that it’s not an exam but a competition. Meeting the criteria is not enough. You have to be the one who fulfills them best. In this little game, the podium is perhaps a more realistic horizon for him than first place.
Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé around the Ballon d’Or
Credit: Quentin Guichard
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