Mbappé vs Messi: The Ballon d'Or Battle
Kylian Mbappé was supposed to be kicking the Ballon d’Or door off its hinges this year. Eight goals in North America, France dragged to another World Cup semi-final, the new Real Madrid spearhead looking every inch the heir to football’s individual throne.
Then Spain happened. Then another empty season at club level happened. And, quietly but relentlessly, Lionel Messi walked back into the centre of the stage.
Mbappé’s numbers, Messi’s narrative
On pure output, Mbappé has done his part. He terrorised defences at the World Cup, finishing with eight goals and long stretches where he looked unplayable. For France, he was again the reference point, the man opponents built entire game plans around.
Yet the small print of the Ballon d’Or race rarely changes. The award gravitates to the players who marry brilliance with the biggest prizes. France fell in the semi-finals. Real Madrid, for a second straight season, ended without a major trophy in 2025-26. No Champions League. No La Liga. No crowning moment to frame his year.
That is the reality Jérémie Aliadière kept circling back to when weighing Mbappé’s chances. Speaking to GOAL in association with Betinia NJ, the former France forward did not dress it up.
He accepted that Mbappé’s season at club level was, individually, outstanding – “a ridiculous amount of goals” and long spells where he “carried the team”. The problem is not the numbers. It’s the medal count.
The unwritten rule remains brutally simple: to win the Ballon d’Or, you usually need to win the Champions League, the World Cup, or the Euros. Mbappé has done neither this time. On that basis, Aliadière “can’t see him being the Ballon d’Or”.
Harry Kane sits in the same boat. A prolific year, a leading role, but no international trophy after England fell short. No defining piece of silverware, no decisive push in the voting.
Messi, again, at the heart of it
While others have chased the game’s biggest nights, Messi has quietly stacked them up. At 39, he has taken Argentina to yet another World Cup final, matching Mbappé’s eight-goal haul at the tournament and once more turning knockout matches into his personal theatre.
The Albiceleste icon is on the brink of defending the crown he lifted in Qatar in 2022. If he delivers one more commanding display against Spain, a ninth Ballon d’Or suddenly feels less like nostalgia and more like inevitability.
Aliadière believes the spotlight is drifting back towards Buenos Aires. In his view, the next Ballon d’Or “will probably be one of Argentina”, and if Messi wins the World Cup again, the world will be “mesmerised by the age and what he's produced” and largely forget that his club football is being played in MLS with Inter Miami.
That is the twist: Messi has not just been ticking over in North America. He has dominated it. The 2025 campaign brought an MLS Cup and MVP honours with Inter Miami, a reminder that even in a different footballing landscape, his influence bends leagues to his will.
No slowing down at 39
The idea that Messi might be winding down has been shredded over the past year. For club and country, he has continued to deliver decisive moments rather than cameos of a fading genius.
In Atlanta, England felt the full force of that reality. Messi’s last outing saw him help send Gareth Southgate’s side home after a dramatic semi-final, another high-stakes night stamped with his fingerprints.
Former MLS midfielder and World Cup winner Kleberson has watched the evolution from close range and sees no reason to rule out another Golden Ball. Speaking to GOAL, he was almost exasperated by Messi’s refusal to fade.
“Wow! That guy never stops!” he said, arguing that Argentina have “more chance of winning the World Cup with Messi than any other country” simply because the No.10 is still operating at such a high level.
For Kleberson, the contrast with Cristiano Ronaldo is stark. Ronaldo continues to score and compete, but the supporting cast around him with Portugal does not match the balance, chemistry and technical purity Messi enjoys with Argentina. The Brazilian believes that difference gives Messi “a lot of chance” to add yet another Ballon d’Or to his collection.
If Messi lifts the World Cup again, Kleberson is unequivocal: “100 per cent he’s going to be up to win the Ballon d’Or again.” Coming from a Brazilian, there is weight in his admission that even fans in his own country “want to see good players win the Ballon d’Or and the World Cup” – the kind of players who are “a joy to see play”. In his eyes, Messi remains firmly in that category.
The shifting hierarchy
So the picture is clear, even if it feels harsh on Mbappé. On pure form and numbers, the Frenchman has done enough to sit at the Ballon d’Or top table. On trophies, he has not. The same logic applies to Kane. Great seasons, no defining silverware.
Messi, by contrast, has both the story and the substance. Another World Cup final. Another avalanche of goals. MLS Cup and MVP status with Inter Miami. A 39-year-old still bending tournaments to his will and threatening to pull four Ballons d’Or clear of Ronaldo.
The debate that once seemed to be drifting towards the next generation has been dragged back by the old master. The question now is blunt: in an era desperate to crown a new king, can anyone actually take the throne from Messi while he is still playing like this?
