Even with an empty trophy cabinet, Mbappé should walk off with the 2026 Ballon d’Or.

That is the verdict from Thierry Henry, France’s all-time top scorer, who worked through the shortlist on CBS Sports on 9 September before settling on his compatriot.

“It’s Kylian Mbappé. And yes, people will tell me that he didn’t win anything.”

“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.”

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The numbers behind that case are stacked. Mbappé closed 2025-26 as La Liga’s leading scorer with 25 goals in 31 matches, a second consecutive Pichichi Trophy. He topped the Champions League charts with 15 goals. And in July he became only the second player to win back-to-back World Cup Golden Boots, netting 10 times as France reached the semi-finals in North America.

The trophy problem

Henry acknowledges the counter-argument. Real Madrid finished 2025-26 empty-handed, with Barcelona retaining La Liga and Paris Saint-Germain defending their Champions League crown with a shootout win over Arsenal in Budapest. France went out in the semi-finals to eventual world champions Spain.

“It’s not as easy as it was last year. I think this year is a bit more complicated,” Henry said of the race.

He then spelled out the counter-factual for Lionel Messi, whose Argentina lost the final to Spain.

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“And I think if they won the World Cup, I think they would have brought the Ballon d’Or to him.”

Olise pushes Mbappé close

Henry’s second choice was Michael Olise. The Bayern Munich and France winger has impressed with his assists and his own goal contributions in the Champions League and at the World Cup.

“Michael Olise close,” Henry said.

Voters will not have to hold that thought for long. The 2026 Ballon d’Or gala is set for 26 October in London, the first time the ceremony leaves Paris in its 70-year history. Organisers picked the English capital to mark seven decades since Sir Stanley Matthews lifted the very first trophy in 1956.

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