Overview
- Thibaut Courtois told DAZN on Wednesday that he would vote for Kylian Mbappé, calling him the season's best individual performer while conceding Real Madrid's lack of trophies could hurt Mbappé's case.
- Courtois pointed to Mbappé's Golden Boot and top-scorer status across La Liga, the Champions League and the World Cup as the basis for his support.
- He contrasted those numbers with Lamine Yamal's team success, noting Yamal won the 2025/26 World Cup and LaLiga and that those titles give the teenager a strong Ballon d'Or claim.
- Courtois also addressed dressing-room talk, rejecting the 'fake Vinícius' theory and saying the 'Mbappé dictator' label is an inside joke players sometimes turn into a song.
- France Football's 100-journalist jury asks voters to balance individual form, team honours and conduct, so Courtois's endorsement increases focus on how jurors will weigh goals against trophies before the London award is announced later this month.