Kylian Mbappé has continued to speak openly about his Ballon d’Or hopes, but his latest interview has also led to jokes from some football fans about his growing media campaign.

Mbappé steps up Ballon d’Or push as fans Mock his latest interviews

Kylian Mbappé has continued to speak openly about his hopes of winning the 2026 Ballon d’Or, but his latest comments have also caused some football fans to make jokes about his growing media push.

The Real Madrid superstar gave a new interview to Spanish newspaper AS, where the Ballon d’Or was once again one of the biggest subjects.

Mbappé made it clear that he believes he has a strong chance of winning the award.

He also said the Ballon d’Or should return to the Santiago Bernabéu.

Mbappé sends another clear Ballon d’Or message

Mbappé has never tried to hide his ambition to win football’s biggest individual award.

In his latest interview, he said he believes this could be a good year for him to finally win it.

The French captain explained that his performances are his strongest argument.

“The Ballon d’Or must return to the Bernabéu.”

Mbappé said bringing the award back to Real Madrid would also give joy to the club’s supporters.

The last Real Madrid player to win the Ballon d’Or was Karim Benzema in 2022.

This is not the first time Mbappé has spoken about the award

The AS interview came only days after Mbappé also discussed the Ballon d’Or in a long interview with France Football.

During that conversation, he strongly defended his own performances from last season.

Mbappé said he did not believe any player had performed better than him individually.

He also made it clear that he still believes he can win the award despite Real Madrid and France not winning the biggest team trophies last season.

His confidence has therefore become one of the biggest talking points before the Ballon d’Or ceremony.

French media describe Mbappé as being ‘in campaign mode’

The number of interviews has also attracted attention in France.

French newspaper 20 Minutes described Mbappé as still being in campaign mode after his latest comments in Spain.

That does not mean Mbappé or Real Madrid have officially announced a Ballon d’Or campaign.

Instead, it is the way some media outlets are describing his recent interviews and repeated comments about the award.

Mbappé has discussed his chances several times during the build-up to the vote.

Some fans are now mocking Mbappé

However, the PR campaign for Mbappe isn’t really gaining “sympathy” from Real Madrid fans themselves, who feel that Mbappe is “begging” the public to vote for him instead of proving himself through actual achievements. Right in the comments section of Roncero’s article, there was a series of negative comments, including “A Ballon d’Or for a guy from ‘FC didn’t win the cup’?”.

An AS reader mocked Mbappe’s desire for the Ballon d’Or despite playing for a “non-cup FC” (“Nadapletes FC”)

Some readers even attacked Roncero for having previously written articles criticizing Mbappe: “Tomas, you didn’t say that at the end of last season”, or “You’re a hypocrite and, to put it as politely as possible, a foot licker. Last year he wrote an article criticizing him for playing to keep him occupied while waiting for the World Cup, and now he’s back licking his feet”.

An AS reader mocked Tomas Roncero of AS for “licking Mbappe’s leg,” writing an article last year criticizing the French player for playing a World Cup-related game, but now turning to praise him as he prepares to vote for the Ballon d’Or

Furthermore, AS’s editor-in-chief, Jose Felix Diaz, will represent Spain in voting for the Ballon d’Or. Therefore, many readers are “looking,” wondering whether Diaz voted for a French Real Madrid player, or for a Spanish player to win the World Cup.

Mbappé’s supporters defend him

There is also another side to the debate.

Some Real Madrid supporters argue that Mbappé is simply answering questions that journalists continue to ask him.

They point out that the Ballon d’Or is naturally one of the main subjects when one of the world’s biggest players gives an interview before the ceremony.

From that point of view, Mbappé is not asking journalists to talk about the Ballon d’Or. He is responding when they ask him about it.

That is why the reaction around his interviews remains divided.

His numbers give him a strong individual argument

Whatever people think about his interviews, Mbappé has major individual achievements supporting his case.

He finished last season as the top scorer in several major competitions and also produced another huge World Cup campaign with France.

His individual statistics are one of the main reasons why he remains a serious name in the Ballon d’Or discussion.

However, his rivals also have strong arguments.

Lamine Yamal is one of his biggest rivals

Lamine Yamal has openly said that he believes he and Mbappé are among the strongest candidates for the award.

The Barcelona star can point to major team success as well as his individual performances.

Mbappé, meanwhile, has praised Yamal and described him as a very talented player with a big future.

The two stars are now at the centre of one of the biggest Ballon d’Or debates of the year.

Harry Kane takes a different approach

The debate became even more interesting after Harry Kane spoke about his own Ballon d’Or chances.

Kane said he was proud of his achievements but explained that he was not spending too much time thinking about the award.

He pointed out that the final decision will be made by voters.

That approach is very different from Mbappé, who has been much more open about his ambition to win.

Neither approach is necessarily right or wrong, but the contrast has created more discussion among supporters.

Mbappé is not hiding what he wants

One thing is now very clear.

Mbappé wants the Ballon d’Or.

He believes his performances give him a strong case.

And he is comfortable saying that publicly.

But the more he talks about the award, the more criticism and jokes he is likely to receive from fans who believe individual trophies should be decided on the pitch rather than through interviews.

The final decision will not be made on social media.

It will be made by the Ballon d’Or voters.

Until then, Mbappé’s comments are likely to remain one of the biggest stories around the race.

And if he finally wins the trophy, his message about bringing the Ballon d’Or back to the Bernabéu will look very different.