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What's the story?
Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe revealed his favourite for the Ballon d'Or, stating that Lionel Messi deserves the award despite Barcelona's Champions League failure.
In case you didn't know...
Kylian Mbappe is enjoying a stellar campaign with PSG. The French forward has netted 38 goals and provided 17 assists in all competitions, with 32 of his goals coming in the French league. Thanks to his exploits, PSG secured the Ligue 1 title weeks ago despite the absence of Neymar in their ranks.
On the other hand, Lionel Messi is proving he is football's finest with his exploits almost every week. His recent brace against Eibar helped salvage a 2-2 draw for Barcelona, which saw the 31-year-old ending his league campaign with 36 goals.
Messi has netted 50 goals in all competitions, 12 of them coming in the Champions League. He remains the top scorer in the competition so far this season despite Barcelona crashing out in the semi-final stages.
Mbappe has been the only competitor for Lionel Messi this season. The French forward is four goals behind the Argentine wizard in the race for European Golden Shoe and he will have to pull off something sensational in the last league game to win the award.
The heart of the matter
Mbappe himself is a Ballon d'Or contender due to his staggering performances this season but the French forward believes Messi is the number one.
Speaking at the UNFP awards ceremony in France, the French star said:
“Messi, despite the elimination (Barcelona were beaten by Liverpool in Champions League semi-final), it does not change anything."
“He is the number one. He has shown he was the best player this year. The year will take us up to December but I’m not worried about him, he is going to play until December.”
What's next?
PSG will face Reims in their last Ligue 1 fixture on Friday and Mbappe will have to score five goals to win the European Golden Shoe ahead of Lionel Messi.
