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| Kylian Mbappe and Lee Kang-in during Paris Saint-Germain. EPA Yonhap News |
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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How many years will it take for Erling Holan (25, Manchester City) and Kylian Mbappe (27, Real Madrid) to win the Ballon d'Or?
Holan and Mbappe were included in the list of 30 candidates for the 2025 Ballon d'Or men's player award announced by the French daily 'L'Equipe' on the 7th (Korea time), but their chances of winning the award are virtually close to 'zero'. Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Usman Dembele, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Desiree Doue (PSG), Denzel Doompris (Inter Milan), Serhu Girasi (Dortmund), Victor Jockeres (Sporting/Arnall), Erling Holan (Man City), Achraf Hakimi (PSG), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Hvitsa Kravatskhelia (PSG), Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona), Alexis McAllister (Liverpool), Lautaro Marta, Fabian Lewis (PSG), Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Vinicius Junior (Real), Vitinha (PSG), Florian Birz (Leverkusen/Liverpool), and Lamin Yamal (Barcelona) were nominated.
Mbappe, who left Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to move to his dream club Real last summer, scored a total of 38 goals (48 games) in Spain's Primera Liga and European Champions League in the 2024-2025 season, but his team was engulfed in an all-time slump. In the league and Copa del Rey, they finished second behind rival Barcelona, and were eliminated in the quarterfinals in the Champions League. The FIFA Club World Cup also reached the semifinals. Winning the European Super Cup was the only title. Mbappe scored 31 goals in the league, making it a season where he has to settle for winning the Pitch (Larry is the top scorer).
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| A list of 30 Ballon d'Or candidates for 2025. Source = Requipe |
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Holan, who lost his strength due to continued injuries and Manchester City's turmoil, scored 30 goals in the English Premier League and Champions League. Compared to the 2022-2023 season (48 goals), it is about 60%. He finished third in the EPL scoring rankings, trailing Mohamed Salah (29 goals for Liverpool) and Alexander Isak (23 goals for Newcastle). Holan was the top scorer for the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 seasons in a row. Manchester City also lost the title to Liverpool in the league and suffered a humiliation of being eliminated early in the 'Champs'. He only won the FA Cup.
Mbappe and Holan, who do not have a suitable major title, naturally became distant from the world's most prestigious Ballon d'Or. Locally, Paris Saint-Germain ace Usman Dembele, who won the treble (three single-season championships), and Ramin Yamal, who led Barcelona's double, are expected to be a two-way race. The final winner of the Ballon d'Or will be announced on September 22, local time, after the opening of the new season.
If Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nasr) are 'The Night is', Mbappe and Holan are 'The Day is'. It is expected that he will compete for at least 10 years for the Ballon d'Or, following the lead of 'Menaldo', which has divided world soccer for nearly 20 years. However, his actions so far are not enough to be labeled as "Honjodaejeon" (or "Honjodaejeon").
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| EPAYonhap News |
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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Mbappe has been nominated for the Ballon d'Or eight times in a row since 2017, when he rose to prominence in football. In the past seven awards ceremonies, he was selected as the top 10 without exception, and in 2023, he ranked third and reached the podium for the first time. They ranked 7th in 2017, 4th in 2018, 6th in 2019, 9th in 2021, 6th in 2022, 3rd in 2023, and 6th in 2024, respectively. In 2020, the Ballon d'Or was not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is a proof that AS Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain, and the French national team showed steady 'Walkle' skills every year without any ups and downs. However, it was 2% short of the winners such as Cristiano Ronaldo (currently Al Nasr), Lionel Messi (currently Inter Miami), Luca Modric (currently AC Milan), Karim Benzema (currently RT Hard) and Rodri (Man City). Former team Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League, the club's aspiration, shortly after Mbappe left. PSG produced nine of the 30 Ballon d'Or candidates. Although he lost to Chelsea in the Club World Cup final and missed the championship, he is considered the best club in the world.
Norwegian Holan was nominated for the Ballon d'Or for the first time in 2021, taking 11th place. Son Heung-min ranked 10th in 2022 (then 11th) and was considered a strong candidate for the award in 2023, but he swallowed tears by finishing second behind Messi. In 2024, he finished fifth. In this year's Ballon d'Or ranking, which is evaluated as a performance in the 2024-2025 season, it is highly likely to fall further than the previous two seasons. Mbappe is also hard to expect podiums.
Dembele or Yamal, whichever one wins, becomes history. Dembele seeks French award three years after Benzema in 2022. Messi was the last PSG to win the Ballon d'Or in 2021. Yamal, who is 18 years old this year, is the youngest winner of all time and is seeking a place from Barcelona for the first time in six years since Messi in 2019.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
