Kylian Mbappe told he can win the Ballon d’Or five times as Sergio Ramos backs Real Madrid star over Ousmane Dembele, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha despite lack of major trophies

The legendary former Real Madrid centre-back chimed in on the Ballon d'Or discussion and backed his ex-Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Mbappe to win the award this year, despite acknowledging that the Frenchman didn't manage to win any major titles with his club in the 2024-25 season.

Ramos and Mbappe spent two seasons as team-mates at Parc des Princes between 2021 and 2023. The former Spanish international now plies his trade for Mexican side Monterrey, while Mbappe arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu last summer. The Frenchman had a difficult opening few months, despite winning the Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup in the first half of the season. However, the 26-year-old found his feet in the latter half of the campaign and ended his debut season with Los Blancos with a record-breaking 43 goals in 56 games, winning the European Golden Shoe in the process for scoring 31 La Liga goals. His goals, however, weren't enough to prevent Barcelona from winning the league as well as the Copa del Rey. Meanwhile, their Champions League defence ended in an embarrassing 5-1 quarter-final defeat to Arsenal.

Ramos, though, believes that the Ballon d'Or is an individual award for which the criteria is never definitive, thus backing the French forward to take home the award ahead of the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Lamine Yamal, and Raphinha.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Ramos said: "I [will] always give it to Mbappe. Not just out of friendship, but also because he has put in some impressive performances. It's a decisive trophy, but you never know what the criteria are for the Ballon d'Or... He scores goals, won the Golden Boot, even though Madrid hasn't won other titles that other teams have won.

"These are individual awards, not collective ones, but there are some very interesting players who have won leagues and cups. It's the little details that will make the difference, and in the end, it depends on one's own opinion. If it were up to me, I think Kylian would have the peace of mind of taking home four or five Ballons d'Or in five or 10 years. He has the talent, even if Madrid didn't have a year full of titles, he had a great season and showed that he was a player of this level."

Mbappe will be hoping to continue his lethal form in front of goal when Madrid kick off their Club World Cup campaign against Asian giants Al-Hilal on Wednesday evening, while Ramos will be seen in action against Champions League runners-up Inter in the early hours of Wednesday morning.