The Ballon d’Or ceremony is just a few days away, with the award set to be handed out on Monday in London.
Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe is one of the favourites to win the Ballon d’Or, and he gets to face another favourite, Lamine Yamal, in the Clasico on Sunday.
According to The Athletic, members of the Real Madrid coaching staff have backed Mbappe both publicly and privately ahead of Monday’s ceremony.
Their admiration for Bellingham is also considerable, with some convinced his own Ballon d’Or triumph is only a matter of time.
Real Madrid coaches see Mbappe as their Ballon d’Or favourite
With the ceremony approaching, Mbappe has emerged as the preferred candidate among figures within Real Madrid’s coaching set-up.
Their support reflects the enormous expectations surrounding the French forward and his standing as one of the game’s leading attacking talents.
Does Kylian Mbappe lift his first ever Ballon d’Or on Monday?. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images)
What makes the situation particularly interesting is the coaching staff’s confidence in another Madrid star.
Bellingham also had an excellent World Cup with England, and Los Blancos staff see him as a player with the quality to win it in the future.
Bellingham’s future recognition could be just as important
Real Madrid have always built their best teams by signing Galacticos and making the superstars thrive within a system.
Having two players like Mbappe and Bellingham viewed as Ballon d’Or-quality talents is exactly what the club would love.
Add Vinicius Jr. to the mix, and if the Brazilian can rediscover his best level, even he has the potential to win the award in the future.
Mbappe offers the kind of decisive attacking presence that naturally attracts attention in awards such as the Ballon d’Or.
Real Madrid see Bellingham as a player capable of lifting the Ballon d’Or in the future. (Photo by Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images)
Bellingham’s appeal is different. He may not be able to match Mbappe goal for goal, but his influence from midfield makes him a special player.
This makes what the Englishman does even more spectacular than what Mbappe does, due to the rarity of such goalscoring quality in midfield.
Bellingham showed during the World Cup that when trusted in the right system, he can quickly emerge as his team’s most important player, even more than Harry Kane.
Under Jose Mourinho, the challenge is to build a collective structure that allows their individual strengths to complement each other.
Whether Mbappe wins the award on Monday or not, it is clear that Real Madrid already see him as the winner.
More importantly, even if Bellingham doesn’t win it this year, he is considered a very bright prospect for the future and it remains to be seen how that prophecy turns out.