Ballon d’Or: Kylian Mbappe Reveals Real Madrid Stance on Attending 2025 Ceremony

Real Madrid boycotted the 2024 Ballon d’Or after claiming the club was disrespected.

Kylian Mbappé is nominated again this year. / ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images

Kylian Mbappé confirmed that he will not be attending the Ballon d’Or ceremony for the second year in a row, and nor will anybody from Real Madrid.

Los Blancos petulantly boycotted the 2024 ceremony at the last minute when it became clear that Vinícius Júnior was not going to win. Dani Carvajal and Jude Bellingham were also contenders, but the trophy went to Manchester City and Spain star Rodri instead.

Madrid still picked up other accolades—Men’s Club of the Year and Men’s Coach of the Year for Carlo Ancelotti—but they felt snubbed and disrespected over the main award.

It’s not clear if those ill feelings persist, or if Real Madrid’s absence from Monday night’s ceremony in Paris is more related to having a road game against Levante only 24 hours later. Either way, they won’t be there, as Mbappé confirmed to Champions League broadcaster CBS this week.

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The Frenchman scored 44 goals in first season with Real Madrid, shattering a 32-year-old record set by Ivan Zamorano for most goals in a debut campaign—the Chilean scored 37 times in 1992–93.

But a lack of trophies—Los Blancos won nothing in 2024–25—means he is not a genuine Ballon d’Or contender, nor does he consider himself one. Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Mohamed Salah and Ousmane Dembélé are fighting it out to lift the golden trophy.

“To win the Ballon d’Or, you first have to win trophies. So, I just have to help my team win trophies, and then we’ll see,” Mbappé said. “I’ll be happy if Ousmane Dembélé wins because he’s my friend. I’ll be in front of my television and hope he wins.”

Mbappé finished third in the 2023 Ballon d’Or standings, his only top three finish to date. Karim Benzema was both the most recent Frenchman and Real Madrid player to win, in 2022.

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