Story · Kylian Mbappé
Has a Ballon d'Or ever been awarded after a trophy-less season?
This article from L'Équipe examines whether a player has ever won the Ballon d'Or after a season without winning any collective trophies, in the context of Kylian Mbappé being a favorite for the 2023 award despite no league or cup titles with Real Madrid or France. Using L'Équipe's database, the article identifies six historical precedents: Stanley Matthews (1956), Denis Law (1964), Kevin Keegan (1978), Luis Figo (2000), Cristiano Ronaldo (2013), and Gerd Müller (1970), who notably was the World Cup's top scorer with 10 goals despite not playing in the final. The piece notes that Mbappé leads an online reader poll and speculates whether history will repeat itself when the winner is announced on October 26.
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