MY ACCOUNT
Kylian Mbappe will not have long to wait until he wins the Ballon d’Or, according to Barcelona great Patrick Kluivert.
Mbappe was widely expected to join Real Madrid when his Paris Saint-Germain contract expired in June, but opted to sign a three-year extension in the French capital.
The 23-year-old cited the project changing at PSG as he hopes to secure a maiden Champions League success.
Mbappe was in scintillating form this campaign as he scored 28 league goals, a tally only bettered by Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski (35) across Europe’s top five leagues.
The France international also added 17 assists, with no player in Europe’s biggest leagues managing more direct goal involvements (45) – Les Bleus team-mate Karim Benzema ranked second with 39.
Mbappe will look to deliver World Cup glory for France in Qatar later this year, and Kluivert believes it will only be a matter of time before the PSG talisman wins the Ballon d’Or.
“Mbappe is one of the best players out there at the moment,” former PSG director of football Kluivert told Spanish daily Mundo Deportivo.
“I congratulate him on his recent renewal with the team. I think he will win the Ballon d’Or shortly.”
Kluivert also discussed his former club Barca, who ended LaLiga in second despite languishing in ninth when Xavi took charge after Ronald Koeman’s dismissal in late October.
Xavi will now be tasked with rebuilding in the transfer window as he looks to close the gap on Champions League and LaLiga winners Real Madrid.
Kluivert played with Xavi at Camp Nou, and backed his former team-mate to transform Barca’s fortunes.
“Next season he will have many possibilities to improve the team, I have a lot of faith in him,” Kluivert said.
“The club has very good young players who know the values of the club. I am confident that Barca will return to where it was.”
