Ballon d'Or: Ex-PSG star explains calculated move that helped Mbappe finish ahead of Yamal, Messi

Former Paris Saint-Germain winger and outspoken French pundit Jérôme Rothen has launched a scathing attack on Kylian Mbappé following the 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony, alleging that the Real Madrid forward only secured his second-place finish through aggressive media lobbying.

Mbappé narrowly missed out on the prestigious accolade, finishing just behind Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane in what France Football editor-in-chief Vincent Garcia described as a remarkably close voting race.

However, Rothen firmly believes the race should never have been close to begin with, pointing to the fact that Mbappé finished the 2025/26 season without winning a single major trophy for either his club or the French national team.

The pundit, who played for PSG from 2004–2010,  insists that Mbappé's high ranking was entirely manufactured by a calculated public relations strategy in the weeks leading up to the gala.

"He ran a real campaign, unlike usual," Rothen remarked on his broadcast show.

"Even the players who were competing with him didn't dare to run a campaign like his. He tried to rally votes through a speech, through communication. That's new," he explained.

Before the official voting period concluded, Mbappé raised eyebrows across Europe by conducting extensive media rounds where he boldly and explicitly stated that he deserved to win the award.

Those brazen public statements drew criticism in France at the time, with Rothen famously telling the national team captain to "shut up" given his lack of collective silverware.

Reflecting on the final standings, Rothen expressed profound disappointment that the 27-year-old's lobbying tactics actually swayed the international jury.

"For me, it's beyond comprehension. I think it was effective," Rothen admitted.

"It's sad to say because me, I'm against this campaign. It's clear he wouldn't have finished second without this campaign," he concluded.