When Harry Kane’s name was read aloud at the London Palladium Theatre, it only took a few seconds for the camera to pan to a disappointed Kylian Mbappé, who did not even get up from his seat to congratulate the newly crowned Ballon d’Or winner.

Mbappé was one of the favorites to take home soccer’s most prestigious individual prize on Monday after a historic 2025–26 season. The 27-year-old Frenchman became the first player to ever to finish as the top scorer in La Liga, the Champions League and the World Cup.

He thought it was enough to propel him into the exclusive Ballon d’Or club; Mbappé went on a full press tour saying as much, arguing his case to convince journalists, his peers and the general public that he put together the best individual campaign last season.

In the end, he walked away as the runner-up by an“extremely small” margin, per France Football’s Vincent Garcia.

33-year-old Kane is proof enough that there’s still plenty of time in Mbappé’s career to win the Ballon d’Or, but that crowning moment will not come based off goals alone.

A Familar Pain for Mbappé

Mbappé is no stranger to being a Ballon d’Or finalist. The Frenchman has now finished in the top 10 of the rankings for the last decade, barring 2020 when the ceremony was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

His consistency for France, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid has always been celebrated by the voters, from the time he was a fresh-faced 18-year-old to now being one of the faces of the sport. Yet it never amounted to the recognition he—and many others—felt he deserved.

Before the 2026 edition, Mbappé had only ever finished on the podium once. The France international took home third place in 2023 despite putting together one of the greatest World Cup performances of all time. His heroics in Qatar were not even enough for second place—that honor went to Erling Haaland, and Lionel Messi lifted his eighth Ballon d’Or award.

The year later, Mbappé only finished in sixth place despite winning the Gerd Müller Trophy and a domestic treble with PSG. The club accomplishments were virtually the same as Kane put up last season, including both players falling in the Champions League semifinals. Yet it wasn’t enough for Mbappé to even crack the top five in the 2024 rankings.

Then he made the switch to Real Madrid and put together the club’s best-ever debut campaign that included the Pichichi Trophy and the European Golden Boot, but Mbappé was only voted as the seventh best player in the world in 2025.

Mbappé’s Ballon d’Or Finishes

Mbappé Thought His Time Had Finally Come

It was becoming more and more clear that scoring a ton of goals in Ligue 1 or La Liga wasn’t going to be enough for Mbappé to claim Ballon d’Or glory. So in 2025–26, he put together the greatest individual campaign of his career.

Mbappé recorded 58 goals and 13 assists for club and country, numbers that would have been higher had he not battled various knee injuries throughout the year. He once again won the Pichichi Trophy, scoring 25 goals in 31 league appearances. But this time, he also added more accolades to his résumé.

Mbappé bagged 15 goals in 11 Champions League appearances, a haul all the more impressive considering Real Madrid did not make it past the quarterfinals. He then turned up on the biggest stage of all and found the back of the net 10 times for France en route to the team’s fourth-place finish at the 2026 World Cup.

The run across North America made Mbappé the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup history at age 27. What more could he do to prove he was the best individual player in the sport?

The answer is dripped in silver.

How Mbappé Can Finally Win the Ballon d’Or Next Year

The one thing missing from Mbappé’s résumé over the last few years are trophies. For all the records he broke in his debut campaign at the Bernabéu, he failed to win a single major trophy.

Mbappé produced even more in his sophomore stint, but once again, he had no silverware to his name. A World Cup title or at least another sensational appearance in a final could have been enough to get the Real Madrid star more votes than Kane, but France could not get past Spain in the semifinals.

With the margin of votes being so minuscule between Mbappé and Kane, it’s likely that even a La Liga title would have been enough for the Frenchman to hear his name called out by Ronaldo on Monday evening.

But the odds were always going to be stacked against a player who did not win a single competition last season—something Mbappé must rectify in 2026–27 if he wants to finally win the Ballon d’Or.

The goals are already flowing for the forward; Mbappé has found the back of the net 14 times in 13 appearances so far, with his most recent brace winning El Clásico for Real Madrid. In the Champions League, he has three goals in as many appearances and has climbed up the all-time rankings, where he now sits in fifth place among the best goalscorers in the competition’s history.

But none of it will matter come time for next year’s Ballon d’Or voting if Mbappé does not bring trophies back to Real Madrid. A Champions League title would likely be enough to get the 27-year-old his sought-after prize, especially since there is no major international competition unfolding next summer to take away votes from players with the best club achievements.

To make a Ballon d’Or undeniable, Mbappé would also have to top La Liga this season. Winning the Spanish Super Cup and/or the Copa del Rey wouldn’t hurt, but the Champions League and La Liga are the keys to the Frenchman’s eternal glory.