Thierry Henry backs Real Madrid star for Ballon d’Or glory

Thierry Henry backs Real Madrid star for Ballon d’Or glory Real Madrid were unable to win any major trophy during the last season, but still, some of their players impressed a lot at an individual level. This was particularly true for Kylian Mbappe, who retained the Pichichi title by scoring 25 goals in La Liga, and was also the top scorer in the UEFA Champions League. Furthermore, he had a very good World Cup 2026 campaign with France, and won the Golden Boot, while also breaking the all-time scoring record in the competition to become the top goalscorer in the history of the competition. As a result of these achievements, he is one of the leading candidates for this year’s Ballon d’Or . In fact, as ESPN has reported, one of the most respected voices in European football, Thierry Henry, believed that with these achievements, the Real Madrid star deserved to win the Ballon d’Or this year. When asked to name his favorite for this award, the former French forward stated: “It’s Kylian Mbappé… 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.” Henry named another Frenchman, Michael Olise, as his second pick: “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… But I will personally go with [Mbappé]. Michael Olise, close.” The French commentator believed Messi would have won the Ballon d’Or if he won the World Cup: “And I think if they won the World Cup, I think they would have brought the Ballon d’Or to him.” Henry went on to highlight how difficult it would be to pick a winner this year: “It’s not as easy as it was last year… 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.” There is no doubt that Kylian Mbappe has a very strong case to finally win the Ballon d’Or this season, even though he did not win any major trophies. Hopefully, this will change this season, and he will also get his hands on his first La Liga and UCL titles with Real Madrid, after winning the Ballon d’Or in October.