Kylian Mbappé already has four Ligue 1 Uber Eats titles and a FIFA World Cup with France to his name at the tender age of 23, but the Ballon d'Or continues to elude him... for now.
Mbappé was his usual unplayable self last season, scoring 39 goals and assisting 26 more in just 46 games in all competitions, giving him a goal-involvement every 60 minutes he played.
He spurned the advances of Real Madrid to extend his at the Parc des Princes until 2025 in May, and already has five goals from four games in the current Ligue 1 Uber Eats campaign.
Mbappé may have already ascended to the top of world football on a team basis at the age of 19, but he craves October's individual honour.
Watch: Mbappé involved in five goals for the first time
"In the face if this glistening trophy we all become kids again," he told France Football. "We all watch this ceremony with the players arriving on the red carpet thinking 'one day it'll be me.' I'm sure many dream of those moments, imagining the stress of waiting for the rankings to be revealed, sitting next to the greatest players on the planet.
Mbappé is joined on the 30-man Ballon d'Or shortlist by two former AS Monaco teammates in Bernardo Silva and Fabinho, as well as former PSG youth prodigy Christopher Nkunku. Sadio Mane and Rafael Leao have also previously plied their trade in the French top flight.
"In fact, that's it; the Ballon d'Or awakens our childhood dreams in us," he concluded. "We can win titles, other awards, but this is the Holy Grail."
