Leboeuf Critiques Mbappé's Ballon d’Or Obsession Amid Real Madrid Struggles

Kylian Mbappé’s numbers are absurd. Forty-two goals for Real Madrid last season. A second Pichichi in La Liga. A World Cup record book ripped up, then rewritten in his image.

He is now France’s all-time leading scorer with 66 goals. No one has scored more at the World Cup either – his tally at FIFA’s showpiece stands at 22 and counting. On the pitch, the output screams “best in the world”.

The trophy cabinet does not.

Major club silverware keeps slipping through his fingers, and with it, the Ballon d’Or. As the likes of Harry Kane, Rodri, Lamine Yamal and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia surge into the conversation, Mbappé is again tipped to slide down the voting.

He has not been shy about how he feels. The France captain has openly stated he believes the “best player on the planet” tag should be his. Those words have not landed well with everyone.

Leboeuf: “Everything Mbappé does feels like it’s for himself”

Former France defender Frank Leboeuf, speaking to GOAL in association with Mr Gamble, did not hold back when asked if repeated Ballon d’Or snubs might fuel Mbappé.

"Nobody can say Raphinha is a better number nine than Kylian Mbappe because this is the first time Raphinha is playing as a number nine, whereas Mbappe has been playing as a number nine and consistently scoring goals for almost 10 years," Leboeuf said.

Then came the twist.

“However, everything Mbappe does on the field feels like it's for himself, whereas with Raphinha, you feel everything he does is for the team. That's the problem. When Mbappe says he wants to win the Ballon d'Or, that says it all. That is my concern. You should never talk about the Ballon d'Or like that. Going into the media to express his wish and willingness to win the Ballon d'Or is annoying because it proves his critics right.

"They think he's selfish, and he is showing that. Real Madrid isn't playing well or winning games, yet he's talking about the Ballon d'Or. No, start winning games and scoring goals with your team.

"Express that you want to win La Liga and the Champions League. Stop talking about the Ballon d'Or, it's not important. People might say I'm jealous because I didn't win the Ballon d'Or, but I'm fine. I'm fond of Kylian Mbappe, but sometimes when he talks to the media, it's not good for his image.”

The message is clear: the narrative around Mbappé is drifting away from his goals and towards his ego. And in Leboeuf’s eyes, that is poisoning his chances of ever lifting the golden ball he craves.

The missing piece: Europe

If Mbappé is ever to get his hands on a Ballon d’Or, one thing feels non-negotiable – a Champions League title.

He has watched Paris Saint-Germain, the club he left to chase bigger nights in Europe, win back-to-back Champions League crowns without him. From afar. From Madrid. From the outside looking in.

Real Madrid, now back under the command of the returning “Special One” Jose Mourinho, have stumbled through the early stages of the 2026-27 season. The aura is not quite there. The performances, not quite convincing. A 16th European Cup, the standard demanded at the Bernabéu, already looks like a brutal climb.

Leboeuf is not ready to write them off, but he is not buying the mystique either.

“Real Madrid in the Champions League, it’s too early to say,” he said. “We saw Paris Saint-Germain struggle in the beginning of the season in Ligue 1 and the Champions League over the past two years, only to wake up around December and dominate everyone.

“Hopefully Mourinho will find the solution to make the team better. At the weekend in the derby, I didn't understand how Atletico Madrid finished the game with 11 players and Real Madrid with 10. I understand why their player got sent off, but there were two red-card-worthy fouls from Atletico Madrid. I agree with Mourinho, you don't even need a post-match press conference, just show the pictures and that says it all.

“VAR officials in England, France, and Spain need to wake up because it's not working.”

Mourinho’s battle with egos – and a different culture in Barcelona

The refereeing anger is one thing. The deeper issue, in Leboeuf’s view, lies inside the Real Madrid dressing room.

“We knew when Mourinho came in that it would take time to settle down, and we don't know yet if it's going to work,” he said. “With the egos in the dressing room and the mentality of the players, even for someone with a strong character like Mourinho, it's going to be very difficult to fix what is going wrong at Real Madrid.”

Across the divide, Barcelona look like a club that knows exactly what it wants to be.

“Barcelona has a culture of playing together that has been there since Johan Cruyff or even before,” Leboeuf explained. “For 50 or 60 years at Barcelona, the main principle has been to play together, despite having individual talent. [Pep] Guardiola maintained that, [Ronald] Koeman maintained that, and Hansi Flick does that now. Even if they don't focus as much on defending, they score so many goals that it's impossible to cope with them. That's a beautiful, entertaining game.”

Real Madrid, under Mourinho, are built on a very different idea.

“We know Mourinho wants to play a different style. When he came back in 2013, he changed the mentality and made Real Madrid win by being tough and aggressive, which is acceptable in football.

“It takes time to return to that mindset, and I don't know if Mourinho is capable of repeating what he did in 2013. Hopefully for him, Real Madrid, and the fans, he can. But I have my doubts given the current generation of players he has, as it's hard to change that selfish mindset.”

Mbappé’s crossroads

Strip it all back and the criticism circles the same point: mindset.

Mbappé has the goals, the records, the highlight reels. He has the platform at Real Madrid. He has a coach who thrives on siege mentality and big European nights.

What he does not yet have is the Champions League, nor the universal sense that he elevates everyone around him. Leboeuf’s warning is blunt: as long as the Ballon d’Or remains his public obsession, the perception of selfishness will stick.

The numbers say Mbappé is already a great. The question now is whether he is willing to change what Leboeuf calls that “selfish mindset” to become the kind of champion – and the kind of leader – who actually wins it all.