MADRID, Spain (AFP)—Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe said Monday it was natural for people to consider him a potential Ballon d’Or winner this year after his World Cup exploits.

The France captain scored 10 goals at the tournament this summer to win the Golden Boot, with his country finishing fourth. He has netted 22 in the competition, making him the World Cup’s all-time top scorer.

Mbappe, 27, has not yet won the prestigious trophy given to the world’s best player.

“I think that when you play for Real Madrid, which is the best club in the world, naturally people associate you with that kind of award, they associate you with collective awards, individual awards,” Mbappe told reporters.

“A lot of people, when they see me in the street, talk to me about the Ballon d’Or, a lot of people talk about me as a possible Ballon d’Or winner…

“Of course, I made a lot of history this summer in the most important competition in sport, but we’ll see.

“I have the feeling that it’s a good year for that, but there’s still a long time to go and people are free to vote for whoever they think is the best player in the world.”

Since joining Real Madrid in 2024 Mbappe has scored huge quantities of goals but the club has failed to win a major trophy.

On Tuesday the record 15-time European champions host Inter Milan in the Champions League in the first match of the league phase.

During Mbappe’s first two years at Madrid the team has appeared unbalanced, with too many star names, including the Frenchman and Brazilian winger Vinicius Junior, widely considered not to be contributing enough to the team effort — in contrast to Ousmane Dembele at Paris Saint-Germain and Raphinha at Barcelona.

“We have to improve,” admitted Mbappe. “But I could play dumb and tell you that I score more goals than (Dembele and Raphinha), and that they need to score more goals to be like me.

“Everyone is different, but I want to do things intelligently and say that of course I have to improve and all that, but I don’t like comparisons because I think I do a lot of things that others don’t do.”

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho recently said he would prefer if Mbappe scored fewer goals but also worked hard to help the team win titles.

Mbappe said he would accept lower numbers if it led to trophies, but noted they were not mutually exclusive.

“I’d take 30 goals with titles, yes, but… for me it’s an absurd debate,” said Mbappe.

“I always want to score goals and win titles… you don’t have to choose, you can do both things.”

– Mourinho faces old friends –

Veteran Portuguese coach Mourinho led Inter to Champions League glory in 2010 at the Santiago Bernabeu before he departed to take over at Real Madrid.

Despite his history with the Italian side, whom he steered to the treble that year, the coach said that only mattered before and after, but not during the match.

“There aren’t many (people) left from my time, but it’ll always be a pleasure to see people, even if I don’t know them, but people who defend Inter, before and after,” said Mourinho.

“During the game I want to win, they want to win, and there won’t be time to think about things from a wonderful past.”

Inter coach Cristian Chivu started the 2010 final playing under his opposite number on Tuesday at the Bernabeu.

“Mourinho is a special person and I was lucky to have encountered him,” said Chivu, who described the Portuguese as a “winner”.

“There are few in the world like him,” continued the Romanian coach.

“He showed it here but at other big clubs too. I’m sure Real Madrid will have a great season.”

Mourinho wants his Madrid players to bounce back from their first defeat of the season, 1-0 at Real Betis on Friday in La Liga.

“I want to win. I could tell you I want to play well, but I don’t want to play well like we did against Betis and lose,” added Mourinho.