Kylian Mbappé plays every match without insoles in his boots. The forward owned up to the habit in an interview with Onze Mondial after collecting the 2026 Onze d’Or on Monday, framing it as a reflex he picked up as a boy at AS Bondy and never managed to shake.
“I have a very bad habit, it’s not good, but I do it: I play without insoles,” Mbappé said.
The 27-year-old traced the quirk back to his earliest days in the Paris suburb, long before Monaco signed him.
“I made the mistake of doing this as a kid, I’ve played without insoles since I was very young.”
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“It’s the reflex of a kid from Bondy to remove his insole, even on custom-made boots.”
He also issued a direct piece of advice to any young player tempted to copy him.
“So to all children: don’t remove your insoles. Keep your insoles.”
48.2% of a two-million vote
The confession came on the back of a landslide. Mbappé took 48.2 per cent of more than two million fan votes in the Onze d’Or ballot, finishing well clear of Paris Saint-Germain pair João Neves (11.9 per cent) and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (10.8 per cent).
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“It’s a reward for the work put in all year long, and it gives me a lot of motivation to continue and do even better,” Mbappé said of the award, which recognises the best player of the 2025-26 season as judged by readers of the French magazine.
“Joining such a group, alongside players of such high calibre, is always a pleasure.”
Previous winners include Zinedine Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo and Diego Maradona.
A Panenka at the Bernabéu the night before
The award arrived 24 hours after Mbappé scored twice as Real Madrid beat Sevilla 4-1 at the Bernabéu on Sunday, his second goal a chipped Panenka from the spot that took him to nine league goals for the campaign.
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