Speaking to Onze Mondial after being voted the best player of the 2025-26 season, the Frenchman offered a candid account of his personality, his approach to criticism and the motivation behind his ambition. He won the Onze d’Or ahead of João Neves and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, receiving 48.2 per cent of the vote.
“Anyone who thinks I’m perfect doesn’t watch television!” Mbappé joked. “I’ve shown time and again that I can do stupid things. And I accept that. I think that’s fine too.”
The 27-year-old argued that people cannot fully understand someone through their public appearances alone, drawing a comparison with the way audiences judge actors.
“Nobody really knows you through television. That’s why sometimes the analysis is out of step with reality,” he said.
“If you ask me to judge an actor whose films I’ve only watched, I could give an opinion that is completely opposite to what the person is actually like. That’s why I don’t judge, because I’ve experienced what it’s like to be on the other side of the screen.”
Mbappé also defended his insistence that he is the best player in the world, recognising that such declarations can provoke a strong reaction in France. For him, however, confidence is a requirement rather than a claim to perfection.
“When I say it, it’s because I believe it and because it motivates me. To do great things, you can’t go out onto the pitch thinking other people can do it better than you. That would mean putting a limit on yourself.”
His confidence does not mean he has stopped questioning his own performances. Mbappé described doubt as a necessary part of remaining at the top, forcing him to examine what he has done and how he can improve.
“Doubt is very important because it allows you to surpass yourself and not rest on your laurels. I’m constantly thinking about what I can do, what I’ve done and what I’m doing.”
Asked to assess the decade or so since his professional breakthrough, he gave his career top marks, but not simply because of his goals and trophies.
“The first thing I take from it isn’t the goals or the titles, but that in these ten or eleven years I haven’t been bored for a single year. I’ve never taken my foot off the accelerator.”
His next ambition is to understand football more deeply, reading the decisive moments of matches and seasons while retaining the instinct that makes him dangerous.
“I want to really understand the moments in a match, a season or an action. I want more control over what I do and to leave less to the unknown,” he said. “But you have to leave room for creativity and instinct, because they’re part of my game, and that’s something I must never lose.”
Mbappé has also learned to separate criticism from his sense of self. When he was younger, he admitted, he took negative reactions personally. Now he tries to remain grounded in his own values.
“I’m a guy who adapts. More than a chameleon, I’m a citizen of the world.”
He offered a final message to young supporters who dream of following his path: they should aim higher than copying him.
“Wanting to be me means putting a limit on yourself. The point of dreaming is not to put limits on yourself. If they can dream of being better than me, they shouldn’t hold back.”
Despite the scrutiny that accompanies his status, Mbappé said he has little interest in complaining about the life he has built.
“I’ve always felt privileged. In the world we live in, it would seem out of place to complain about being Kylian.”
Asked whether he was happy, he gave an uncomplicated answer: he has fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming a footballer and playing in the biggest competitions. He still wants more from his work, but does not believe happiness requires endlessly wanting more from life.