Sports
France Legend Slams Mbappe Over Ballon d’Or Clamour
Former France international Christophe Dugarry has criticised Kylian Mbappé, labelling the Real Madrid forward’s public pursuit of the 2026 Ballon d’Or as “childish and pathetic.”
The 1998 World Cup winner addressed the 27-year-old’s media campaign, condemning his focus on personal accolades over collective achievements.
Dugarry questioned the optics of a national team captain
“To publicly ask for an individual award like that, I find it CHILDISH and PATHETIC,” Dugarry said in a report .
“There’s nothing great about asking for it, especially as captain of your national team.
“Football is becoming more and more individualistic, and far too often it makes me sick. Instead of talking about yourself and individual awards, you should be talking about the team, about sharing success and about the trophies you didn’t win but wanted to win together.”
The criticism arrives after Mbappé declared he deserves to win the award based on his statistical output.
The forward claimed his second successive Pichichi Trophy during the 2025/26 campaign, recording 25 goals in 31 LALIGA appearances. He also finished as the UEFA Champions League top scorer with 15 goals, accumulating 42 total goals across 44 appearances for Real Madrid.
However, Real Madrid finished the club season without a single piece of major silverware under the management of Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa.
At the international level, Mbappé registered 10 goals in seven appearances during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, securing his second consecutive Golden Boot. France finished the tournament in fourth place following a 6-4 defeat to England in the third-place playoff.
Despite the lack of team trophies, Mbappé argued that the Ballon d’Or should prioritise individual excellence. His summer record established him as the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup history with 22 total tournament goals, surpassing Lionel Messi.
Jose Mourinho led Real Madrid defeated the Manager’s former club, Internazionale 2-1 in their first Champions League group stage match.
Mourinho who spoke after the match said he could not celebrate his club’s win.
The Coach said it’s difficult facing one’s old club hence, he did not enjoy the match.
” I tried to treat it as a normal match, but it wasn’t a normal match.
“I tried to stay focused, and for those 90 minutes, I did. But I couldn’t celebrate. You know, of course, I was very happy to win the match, but I couldn’t celebrate in front of them” he confessed.
Ahead of Atlético de Madrid’s first away match of the Champions League group stage against Liverpool, club president Cerezo visited the memorial at Anfield to pay respects to Jota.
Jota joined Atlético de Madrid in the summer of 2016 and departed in the summer of 2018. The Portuguese forward tragically died in a car accident in the summer of 2025.
Liverpool has established a memorial for Jota outside Anfield.
Prior to Atlético’s Champions League away fixture against Liverpool, Atlético de Madrid president Cerezo, accompanied by club legend Villa and others, visited Anfield to lay flowers in tribute to Jota.
Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal has refused to put stock in Ousmane Dembélé’s 2026 Ballon d’Or predictions, suggesting the Paris Saint-Germain forward’s selections were influenced by personal bias, declaring that “they dislike me”.
The 19-year-old addressed his omission from Dembélé’s shortlist during a media appearance on Tuesday, September 8.
“He’s Kylian Mbappé’s friend, right?” Yamal stated. “I’m very happy with the season I had. I think every time we faced each other, I probably did something that made them dislike me! And that’s normal. My relationship with Ousmane is very good, and I understand that he wants to choose other players.”
He added: “But I’m very happy with what I delivered this year, and I’m confident that everyone watched it, even if he didn’t.”
Dembélé, who secured the 2025 Ballon d’Or, revealed his top three candidates for the 2026 award during an interview with L’Équipe.
The French international selected Paris Saint-Germain teammate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane, and Real Madrid forward Mbappé. The list excluded Yamal, despite the winger securing the 2025/26 LALIGA title and the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Yamal’s comments regarding a possible dislike reference his consistent success against Mbappé across both club and international competitions.
The Barcelona academy graduate scored against Mbappé’s France during the UEFA Euro 2024 semi-finals. He recently defeated the French national team again on July 14, en route to Spain winning the 2026 World Cup in North America.
At club level, Yamal has maintained a positive record in El Clásico fixtures against Mbappé’s Real Madrid. The winger has frequently celebrated or preceded these victories with provocative social media posts, which has possibly sown a seed of discord.
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