Real Madrid superstar forward Kylian Mbappe is locked in a very tight Ballon d'Or battle with fellow La Liga superstar Lamine Yamal over at rivals Barcelona, as well as European Clasico rival striker Harry Kane of Bayern Munich with the England international widely seen as the early favorite to the honor.
Mbappe has never won the Ballon d'Or in his career despite mounting several serious challenges, and after PSG won the Champions League last season, the Frenchman very much has to prove he can win one on his own, including on a Real team that had won the Champions League the season before he got there.
Injuries have held Mbappe back lately, but he is still having an incredible season with 23 goals in La Liga and 13 goals in the Champions League, averaging at least two key passes per game and two dribbles completed per game in both prestigious competitions.
The Ballon d'Or criteria has changed
If Kylian Mbappe wants to close the deal and win the Ballon d'Or in 2026, then he just learned what he needs to do. According to a report from COPE, via The Madrid Zone, there is a new criteria for winning the Ballon d'Or that will start this year. The award voters are being asked to factor performances in big, important games.
Now, Mbappe is not the only player even on Real Madrid for whom this criteria could specifically apply to, but he is easily their best candidate to win the Ballon d'Or. He has had marquee performances in big games plenty of times for the French national team, including when his side came up just short against Argentina in the Final of the last tournament despite his heroics.
But beyond balling out again at the World Cup this summer in North America, Mbappe needs to prove that he can step it up when it matters most for his club. He has an amazing record of Champions Leauge goals, but ask any PSG fan and they will tell you that he has ghosted in many important UCL knockout games - and Real Madrid have seen that, too.
So if Mbappe wants to beat Kane and even Yamal out for the Ballon d'Or this year, then he is going to have to operate at the highest level possible in the biggest games of the Champions League and in the final Clasico of the season, which could decide the La Liga title he failed to win in his first season in the capital.