There’s no way you don’t feel for Mbappe, honestly. Nobody actually imagined that his career would turn out like this, that at 27, he would still be without a Ballon d’Or. We’re talking about a player who has been at the very top of world football for almost 10 years, someone who has consistently delivered at the highest level, yet somehow, the biggest individual prize in football continues to elude him. He’s finished 9 consecutive years in the Ballon d’Or top 10. 8 consecutive league Golden Boots. A World Cup Golden Boot. Two Champions League Golden Boots. A World Cup winner at 19. He has scored goals everywhere he has played, broken records, carried teams, and remained one of the most decisive players of his generation. Yet here we are, still talking about Mbappe without a single Ballon d’Or to his name. Who would have believed this in 2018. He hasn’t even had a bad career. Far from it. He has had a career most player can only dream of. But when you consider the level of talent, the expectations surrounding him since he was young, and the consistency with which he has delivered, you would have expected him to have at least one by now. It’s even more painful is that you can never really say he hasn’t done enough to be in the conversation. Every season, he gives himself a chance, but there always seems to be someone or something standing in his way. You can’t even say it’s Messi and Ronaldo. Mbappe is only 27, so his story is far from over. He still has time to win one, maybe even 2. But imagine being this good for this long and reaching this age without the one individual award that would cement your place in football history even further. It’s crazy when you actually sit down and think about it.