Kylian Mbappe has not won a single thing of real consequence since the 2018 World Cup when he was a side character to Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba, and Raphael Varane. The Real Madrid superstar has so much quality, but he often seems to be his own worst enemy in terms of taking instruction and fighting for the team's success.
The greatest World Cup goal scorer of all time is slowly coming to the same realization that is idol Cristiano Ronaldo did early in his career; you have to actually win and be a part of great teams that win in order to win awards as an individual every year like the Ballon d'Or.
There are signs that Mbappe is finally embracing this responsibility after bottoming out at the end of the 2025/26 season with his outburst against Alvaro Arbeloa after the Real Oviedo game. Mbappe was missing chances left and right, failing to defend, and spending more time being involved in media leaks than great play on the pitch last season.
Kylian Mbappe needs to win the Champions League to win the Ballon d'Or
But so far under Jose Mourinho, Mbappe has been on his best behavior. After a great individual World Cup as a scorer, albeit lacking in trophies again, Mbappe has looked at his most dynamic with the new coach and system. He did not score on 10 shots against Espanyol in the opener, but then he blew up on Matchday 2 in a 4-1 win over Real Sociedad, scoring a world class hat trick while adding three chances created to boost his team considerably.
Mourinho is a master at unlocking players psychologically, and he already showed that with Vinicius Junior, who bounced back from an awful opening game against Espanyol to score and assist in a much more efficient display. Mou then subbed him off so he could soak up the praise from the Santiago Bernabeu and feel the love, which Mourinho knows is important to Vinicius being at his best.
And thus, Jose Mourinho also knows that Kylian Mbappe is primarily motivated by being the greatest of all time. It does not make him a bad guy, but it does mean that Mbappe can have more selfish motives at times. Luis Enrique would grow frustrated with him not defending and focusing more on scoring goals to the detriment of the team, but finally this summer with France, we saw Mbappe emerge as more of a leader and team player, albeit subtly.
What Mourinho has to do is get Mbappe to see the light that if he wants to win the Ballon d'Or, he has to win the Champions League for the first time in his career. He will be judged, as the superstar and one of the faces of the team, by how he performs and how the team performs with him performing; people and the voters see through the fluff and the empty calorie goals. That is the realization Mou has to push Mbappe towards.
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