Kylian Mbappé, the 27-year-old Real Madrid and France forward, spoke at length with L’Équipe and France Football around the time the 30 nominees for the 2026 Ballon d’Or were announced. In addition to strongly advocating for his own candidacy, the former Paris Saint-Germain player (2017–2024) shared his thoughts on leaving the club just before it went on to win the Champions League. He also revisited a comment from 2023 that had caused a stir—specifically, his remark that he might leave PSG sooner if he were to tie “my future to the Champions League.”
Mbappé: “That cycle had already begun during my final season.”
Paris Saint-Germain won it twice after you left. Meanwhile, Real Madrid hasn’t won it since you arrived. How do you view that stark reality?
It is a stark reality. Just like 2 plus 2 equals 4. They won—you can’t take that away from them; congratulations to them. They built those victories. They managed to follow up with a second one, and that’s extraordinary. They are the team to beat. We—Madrid, and all the others—are setting out with the aim of dethroning the team that won it twice.
In your mind, is it more a case of “I wasn’t in the right place at the right time,” or “I bear some responsibility for not winning it with PSG and for not winning it since joining Real”?
Yeah, or perhaps it’s simply a matter of cycles. I ended my cycle with PSG, while they started a new one by signing five starters. That cycle had actually already begun during my final season. “With (Luis) Enrique, we reached the semi-finals—we were a whisker away from the final—so we were a whisker away from making three consecutive finals; it was simply a new cycle continuing, ‘Year Two.’ I didn’t see myself spending my whole life playing in Ligue 1; I wanted to fulfill my dream of playing for Real. And it’s never a mistake to join the biggest club in the world.”
Mbappé: “When I said it, it was true.”
In 2023, you said: “If I tied my future to the Champions League, I would have gone a long way away [from PSG].” Do you regret that statement?
“No, when I said it, it was true. I can’t predict the future. While at PSG, I could have gone to any club in Europe. Yet, I always stayed. Just ask how many offers they received during my seven years there. I stayed because I was happy in Paris. It was my home. When I felt my time there was up, I wanted to leave.”
It’s a familiar topic; Mbappé has answered this several times, and no shift in his stance is expected—much like his game. We know he scores goals; here, we see his immense self-confidence and a lack of consideration for playing a different role that might prioritize the collective. The France captain even tries to associate himself with PSG’s successful Champions League runs and his own feats.
The thing is, Paris didn’t reach the final in the 2023–2024 season, and Mbappé was very much part of that campaign. He’s quick to claim a share of the near-successes but far less willing to own the shortcomings. That is what’s most irritating. We never see him questioning himself. Not even in light of the stark reality: PSG has won the Champions League twice in a row since he left two years ago.
The Madrid forward could try to temper his comments regarding a departure he might well have wished for sooner—one that could have brought him closer to the Champions League and, potentially, the Ballon d’Or (which was ultimately won by Ousmane Dembélé last season). But no, Mbappé isn’t changing his tune. It is a shame; he possesses qualities that could be better utilized within a team framework.
