Kylian Mbappé brings back an unapologetic swagger to Real Madrid

Kylian Mbappe believes that he is the best player in the world, and has a legitimate case for winning the Ballon d'Or due to his performances last season. Speaking to the media ahead of Real Madrid's game against Inter to kickstart their Champions League campaign on Tuesday, Mbappe was asked a series of questions about his individual brilliance, whether he deserves to win the Ballon d'Or among other pretty important topics. He also talked about the same topic in a recent interview from L'Equipe released on Monday, and he seemed to have his swagger back. The Real Madrid forward fully believed that he deserves the award, despite there being other players with seemingly better collective records. He was much more reserved in his statements at the press conference, but it seemed like, with the interview, he was being himself. He said, in the L'Equipe interview – more candidly: 'Who would I vote for the Ballon d'Or? I'd vote for myself. It's an individual award, we need to see what the player did individually. People saying I went trophyless? I've never seen a single Ballon d'Or winner that ticked every single box of the criteria. 'Has any player ever won the Ballon d'Or unanimously? No. Which means there's always someone who thought the player doesn't deserve it. Being the best scorer in World Cup history, that's something that sticks in people's minds. Being the top scorer of all the biggest competitions, where the best players play, the UCL, the World Cup, I don't know if anyone did it before. 'I believe that making history should always be rewarded. So when you look at my arguments, when you look at what the other players did this year, I'd say yes, I wouldn't be robbing anybody if I win it. But I understand people who disagree, this is not a dictatorship." Kylian Mbappe is doing what Cristiano Ronaldo used to do You can agree or disagree as much as you want about what Mbappe said. As he himself said, not all people can collectively agree on one thing all the time. There will be those who think Harry Kane, Michael Olise or Ousmane Dembele had better years. Maybe there will be those who want Lamine Yamal to win. However, the fact of the matter is that football needs him. Football needs Mbappe, and it needs personalities like him as well. Every big star wants to play the good boy role and be as diplomatic as they come when it comes to talking about situations like this. If they choose the humble route, they will always be respected among the fanbase and the media, but if they go for something like what Mbappe just did – which does not happen with many players – suddenly, they become the enemy of the fanbase. It happened with Cristiano Ronaldo back in the day, while the flip side of that also happened with Lionel Messi. With things like this, I would always want my player take the Mbappe route. It is fine if you don't win it all. If you understand the obsession of being the best and always wanting to be that in your own head, that is where you win. That is where you start driving yourself as high as possible, and Mbappe is doing just that. This is only the case with some sports. In games like basketball, confidence like this is generally accepted and praised. With football, it is seen as arrogance, but in reality, it is just top athletes wanting to show that they are confident in their abilities, and that, ultimately, is what is missing from the sport at the moment. Even Lamine Yamal, as much as Real Madrid fans complain about him being arrogant, is bringing the same sorts of points to the table as Mbappe, and that is something football, as a sport, needs right now. Add us as a preferred source on Google