Without naming him directly at first, the Portuguese built a lengthy case around the criteria he believes should define the award.
"It's a beautiful thing on an individual level. You enter a player's individual history. This dozen or so players of a very, very high level, three or four of whom we have here - it's normal that this ambition exists," Mourinho said.
"For me, the Ballon d'Or has to go to those players who, when they retire, we miss for eternity. I miss Maradona, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Cristiano, Messi, Zidane, Matthäus. You can't give the Ballon d'Or because someone won the Champions League or the World Cup. If you want to reward the Champions League, give the Ballon d'Or to Luis Enrique as best coach.
"For Spain, De la Fuente surely deserves it. That's the big tribute. The best in the world is something else - he doesn't have to be from PSG or from Spain. There are two, three or four players and we know who they are. We know where they are - here. We know who made individual history this summer."
The remarks echoed comments Mourinho made in midweek when asked directly about Mbappé, whose case rests on a striking statistic: since the last World Cup, the Real Madrid number 10 has been the tournament's top scorer, with 22 goals in 22 matches across three editions.
International football also came up, with Mourinho voicing concern over the toll of squad call-ups.
"Internationals worry me. It's a lot of time. Players who go and actually play for their countries worry me less than those who go away without playing - those worry me a great deal," he said. "My relationship with Ancelotti means I stay informed. With Carlo it won't be a problem. With others where that trust doesn't exist, having players away for three weeks is very complicated.
"We'll have to trust in the professionalism of those coaches. I don't want to dramatise it - often there are injuries on international duty and then, when players come back to the club, they lose the rhythm of the work they'd been doing, and a few weeks later the injury arrives. That's just how it is."
Confirming Marc Cucurella would start, Mourinho placed the team above any individual, praised the work Álvaro Arbeloa has done in the academy - "fantastic down below; up top, it's a different tune, and he's had a situation that wasn't easy" - and urged patience over Aurélien Tchouaméni's return, while confirming Endrick is close to a first-team recall.
On team-sheet leaks, Mourinho was relaxed.
"If we go into a match and the opponent doesn't know our team until an hour and a half before, I prefer that. But if it comes out today, it's not a disaster. What worries me is when you make major structural changes - if we play with three centre-backs, with Espí and Kylian together.
"If we do something outside what Málaga's coach might expect, then yes. But the difference between Carreras and Cucurella doesn't worry me. The positive feeling when it doesn't leak is that nobody has talked. But if it does come out, it's not the end of the world."