'Mbappe Ballon d'Or? Not this year'
Manchester City and Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva has revealed he thinks there are players better placed to win the Ballon d'Or this season than Kylian Mbappe.
Paris-born Kylian Mbappe, who has still not finished putting in performances for club and country, is often cited as one of the candidates for this year's Ballon d'Or. He has been named in the list of 30, and he does make a good case to become the first French winner of the award since Zinedine Zidane in 1998.
Many players, past and present, have already spoken out in favour of the boy from Bondy, However, there are others who think he hasn't quite reached that level yet, including Bernardo Silva. The Man City playmaker is sure that his former team-mate can win the award, but not this year.
"He can win it in a few years, but not this time. For 2018, I see more of Luka Modric or Cristiano Ronaldo. And as a Portuguese, I hope that it will be Ronaldo again. That said, I am sure Kylian will win it in a few years," Silva said to 'Canal+'.
Silva had the good fortune to see Mbappe play at close quarters when they were both at Monaco. The two were key as Leonardo Jardim took the side to the top of French football.