Deschamps’ placement of Kylian Mbappé in FIFA’s ‘The Best’ awards revealed

Kylian Mbappé (25) isn’t getting a lot of love from his national team coach at the moment.

The French captain finished ninth in the overall voting for best men’s player in FIFA’s ‘The Best’ awards, with his Real Madrid teammate Vinicius Jr. narrowly winning the award over Rodri (48-43).

France manager Didier Deschamps was one of the many who voted for the prestigious award, though his top choice wasn’t what many had expected. The Real Madrid striker ranked second in Deschamps voting, below Vini Jr.

Deschamps has dropped the Paris-born attacker from his side’s previous two international windows.

While he didn’t get Deschamps’ first-place vote, Mbappé got some unexpected support from a former rival, with Olympique de Marseille defender Chancel Mbemba (30) putting him in his first position. Mbappé’s ex-teammates at Paris Saint-Germain, Achraf Hakimi (26) and Milan Skriniar (29), also ranked Mbappé #1, while the 2018 World Cup champion didn’t partake in the voting.

In two of the past three years, Mbappé has wound up on the podium in ‘The Best’ awards, finishing second in 2022 and third a year ago. Former PSG striker Lionel Messi (37) still figured in the top 10 despite moving away from the Big Five European leagues, with the Inter Miami player finishing sixth in voting this year.

Three other Real Madrid players cracked the top 10 this year besides Mbappé and Vini, including Jude Bellingham (23), who was third, just ahead of Dani Carvajal (32), with the now-retired Toni Kroos in seventh.

GFFN | Joël Lefevre