The PSG star won the prize ahead of Robert Lewandowski and Lionel Messi as the main favourites.
Following the controversy around the Ballon d’Or, the Globe Soccer awards received more attention this year. Six players made it into the awards’ shortlist for the Men’s Player of the Year prize.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Robert Lewandowski, Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, and Mohamed Salah were the final nominees for the prize. Messi and Lewandowski were the two favourites to win the award, based on their Ballon d’Or rankings.
However, the prize found a surprise winner in Mbappe, who won the award for the first time. The PSG star had finished the Ballon d’Or rankings in ninth place, worst among all the Globe Soccer finalists.
The selection is surprising, but Mbappe’s great form in 2021 is impossible to neglect. The PSG striker has continued his key role at the club despite the arrival of Lionel Messi. He has scored 15 goals and provided 15 assists in his 24 appearances for the Ligue 1 leaders. However, his future at the club is more unclear than ever.
PSG are pushing to tie Mbappe to a new contract, but he is reportedly interested in a Real Madrid switch. The Spanish side were close to finalizing a deal for the 23-year-old last summer. However, he ended up staying at PSG for the last year of his contract.
In an interview earlier this month, Mbapp opened up on the failed transfer.
“It’s not easy,” Mbappe told Prime Video (via Fabrizio Romano).
“Whatever happens, I’m going to play for a big club.
People were asking me if I wasn’t too disappointed… yes a bit at the beginning, when you wanted to leave, but I wasn’t in the 3rd division”
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