Sagna Supports Kvaratskhelia Over Mbappé for Ballon d’Or
In World Cup years, the unofficial crown of “best player on the planet” usually follows the trophy. Lift the biggest prize of all, and the conversation tends to fall in line.
Spain’s triumph on North American soil has done exactly that. It has dragged their stars into the glare of the Ballon d’Or spotlight, with 2024 winner Rodri and his new Barcelona team‑mate Lamine Yamal suddenly central figures in the debate over who should rule the game in 2026.
Harry Kane is there too, looming large over the numbers. Sixty‑one goals for Bayern Munich as they stormed to another Bundesliga title is a season that would define most careers. Yet the one line missing from his résumé still hurts: he fell short again in the Champions League, watching the biggest club prize slip from his grasp in 2026.
Paris Saint‑Germain did not. They went back‑to‑back in Europe, a statement run that keeps Ousmane Dembélé firmly in the Golden Ball conversation and opens the door for any of his gifted colleagues at Parc des Princes to make their own case.
Bacary Sagna, though, is looking elsewhere.
Sagna’s surprise pick: Kvaratskhelia over Mbappé
The former Arsenal, Manchester City and France defender, speaking to GOAL in association with BetVictor Online Casino, did not hesitate when asked if Kylian Mbappé should be considered the current best in the world and a deserving Ballon d’Or winner.
“For me the best at the minute, he's in the top three,” Sagna said. “He had an amazing year and he is for me one of the best. But being a striker gives more chances to score, so more chances for the people to look at him favourably.”
Then came the twist.
“For me, Kvara deserves the Ballon d'Or. For me, Kvara [Khvicha Kvaratskhelia] has been phenomenal and being a winger and having such an impact and successful campaign. Apart from winning the Champions League, I think football players will agree that Kvara was the most important player last season.”
That is a strong claim in an era still shaped by Mbappé’s numbers and aura. Sagna is not blind to that either.
“Of course Kylian had an amazing World Cup and I was pleased to see him scoring so many goals, not only because he's French but because I love football and when I see him shining the way he's starting the season, that's his standard, that's his level and he is in the top few players. He might be the the top, the best player in the world, but the problem is how impactful were you for your team last season?”
Impact. Not just goals. Not just highlights. That is where Sagna draws the line between spectacular and decisive.
Mbappé’s paradox: goals without the glittering trophies
On paper, Mbappé’s move to Real Madrid was supposed to end this debate. The Galáctico stage, the white shirt, the Champions League anthem – it all looked like the final step towards the Ballon d’Or podium.
Reality has been far more complicated.
Madrid have now gone two seasons without a major trophy, a drought that jars with the presence of a forward who has already delivered two La Liga Golden Boots and 90 goals in 106 appearances. The numbers scream dominance. The honours list does not.
That tension feeds straight into the Ballon d’Or narrative. Individual brilliance rarely beats the weight of silverware when the votes are cast.
Louis Saha, another former France international, understands exactly where the pressure now lies. Speaking to GOAL, he was asked whether Mbappé will ever actually get his hands on the award that has long seemed his destiny.
“That's a difficult one, because for sure he wants to win those trophies,” Saha said. “He knows that by winning the Champions League, you have a greater chance to win the Ballon d'Or. He knows that that's the way to put all the qualities in front of the best eyes to be judged.”
The Champions League, once again, becomes the hard currency of greatness.
The ‘black cat’ tag and a race against narrative
Saha did not dodge the uncomfortable part of the story either. For all Mbappé’s talent, his recent European record invites awkward questions.
“I do understand that the pressure is on because now it's been almost a very controversial way of not being in those finals. He left the club that won it and now going to a club which is supposed to be one of the favourites, and they don't reach the finals.
“It's starting to question a little bit on the personal side. Let's say on the spiritual side, he seems to be a black cat in a way. So that's the bad line that he wants to rectify as quickly as possible.”
That is the sting. Mbappé’s career, to this point, has been framed as an unstoppable rise. World Cup heroics. Domestic dominance. Record fees and record contracts. Yet when it comes to the Champions League – the competition that shapes legacies and Ballon d’Or campaigns – the story keeps slipping away from him.
Saha, though, refuses to reduce him to a punchline.
“It's always nice to see someone succeed and reach their goals when they have the potential. I think he deserves it. Regardless of people criticising his style of play, he wants to have everything.
“Every situation needs to be about him and that's the proof of greats. But sometimes if things don’t work out, it's easy to criticise. If Cristiano couldn't convert all these trophies that he had over the years, he would have been doomed a long time ago.”
The comparison with Cristiano Ronaldo is telling. Ronaldo built his legend on repeatedly turning decisive nights his way. Mbappé now faces the same demand: not just to dazzle, but to deliver when the season hangs in the balance.
Rodri, Yamal, Kane, Dembélé, Kvaratskhelia – all of them carry their own claims and their own stories into this Ballon d’Or race. Mbappé still has the talent to tower above them. The question is no longer whether he is good enough.
It is how long football will keep waiting for his biggest nights to match his biggest reputation.
