Kylian Mbappé scored more goals than almost anyone in Europe last season and still cannot shake the oldest Ballon d’Or question of all. Did his club win anything?

Pascal Ferré’s answer, delivered less than three weeks before the ceremony at the London Palladium on 26 October, is unambiguous.

“Mbappé is a great player, but this year I would not vote for him,” he told Spanish newspaper Marca, in his first set of comments since the publication of his book The Hidden Face of the Ballon d’Or.

‘The best player in the world cannot win nothing’

The 27-year-old scored 42 goals in 44 appearances for Real Madrid last season and added 10 more at the World Cup, where France were knocked out in the semi-finals by Spain. Real Madrid finished the campaign empty-handed, and that is where Ferré builds his case.

Read also: ‘A lawsuit we do not understand’: Norwegian Air faces Haaland in court over a ponytail

“He was among the few nominees who did not win any title,” Ferré said. “It seems strange to me for the best player in the world to not have won anything this season.”

In a separate interview with France Football Weekly, he went further on the principle.

“In the list of thirty, there must be three or four who have not won any trophies. Including Kylian Mbappé. I don’t see how the best player in the world can miss out on all the collective trophies.”

For Ferré, the World Cup and the Champions League are the two defining events of a season, and he gave neither more weight than the other.

Read also: Alonso wants him, Koundé is open: only Flick stands in the way

‘The Ballon d’Or is not requested, it is earned’

Ferré did not dismiss Mbappé’s campaign.

“I think Kylian Mbappé had a better campaign than Lamine Yamal, but the Ballon d’Or is not requested, it is earned,” he told Marca.

Lamine Yamal has moved to the front of the betting at 10/11 for the award, ahead of Harry Kane at 6/5, after the voting deadline closed on 28 September. The Barcelona teenager registered 24 goals and 17 assists in 45 appearances in 2025-26, won La Liga and played the full 120 minutes as Spain beat Argentina in the World Cup final.

The envelope on the table

Ferré also described an attempt to influence the Ballon d’Or vote during his time running the award. An unnamed player’s agent, he said, asked whether he could “promote his nomination to the jury”. Ferré declined. When he returned from a phone call, he found an envelope on the table. He left it unopened at reception.

Read also: Jake Paul responds after UFC champion threatens to quit and fight him

“I don’t know what was inside it,” he said.

The agent and the player were not identified, and Ferré did not link the incident to Mbappé or the 2026 nomination process.

On Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez, often cited in Spanish media as a lobbying force around the award, Ferré was blunt in the opposite direction.

“Pérez loves (this award), but he has never sent me any message or hinted at anything indirectly,” he told Marca.

Read also: Chilling 911 call released after AEW star PAC’s sudden death at 40

18 days to the Palladium

The 2026 Ballon d’Or is handed out at the London Palladium on 26 October. Voting closed almost a fortnight ago.

Mbappé has started the new season with eight goals in eight appearances for Real Madrid, numbers that will count towards next year’s award, not this one.

Read also: Trump at centre of FIFA controversy as Norway takes action against Infantino