Kylian Mbappé has decided not to keep a low profile in the Ballon d’Or race. Throughout September, the Real Madrid forward gave a series of interviews and openly promoted his candidacy. It is an unusual strategy that may not necessarily have worked in his favor: according to Pascal Ferré, the former head of the Ballon d’Or, some voters eventually grew tired of his constant media presence.
Did Mbappé do too much to convince the voters? With only a few weeks to go before the ceremony, Kylian Mbappé is among the leading candidates for the Ballon d’Or. Unlike some players who prefer to avoid discussing the award, the Frenchman has never tried to hide his ambition. In the final weeks before voting closed, Mbappé gave interviews to several major media outlets, including France Football, L’Équipe, AS and RFI, using the exposure to highlight his record and individual performances. The Real Madrid star notably claimed there had been “no one better than me” over the past season and admitted he would vote for himself.
“They Got Tired of It”
But did Mbappé’s determination to promote his candidacy end up having the opposite effect? Pascal Ferré, the former editor-in-chief of France Football and former head of the Ballon d’Or, expressed doubts on RMC’s After Foot. “It’s quite strange and unusual. Honestly, I don’t think it’s the best strategy,” he said. Ferré also revealed that he remains in contact with several members of the jury, and their reaction to Mbappé’s media campaign was apparently clear: “They got tired of it.” He had previously told Le Parisien that all the media noise surrounding the various candidates could eventually irritate some voters.
However, no definitive conclusions should be drawn. There is nothing to prove that Mbappé actually lost votes because of his interviews, let alone that his communication strategy could directly cost him the Ballon d’Or. Ferré was simply reporting the feelings of some jurors with whom he remains in contact. From a sporting perspective, Mbappé has a very strong individual case, particularly because of his statistics with Real Madrid and the France national team, although the absence of a major team trophy during the period under consideration remains a potential weakness.
His strategy was therefore also designed to put his individual performances back at the center of the debate. But by dominating the media spotlight just before the vote, Mbappé may have risked pushing his own candidacy too aggressively. The result will be announced on October 26, but even before the ceremony, the Frenchman’s high-profile campaign has already achieved one thing: it has generated plenty of discussion.
