FOOTBALL
Mbappe hoping for French winner of Ballon d'Or
France's World Cup-winning squad should produce the 2018 Ballon d'Or winner, according to Kylian Mbappe.
Kylian Mbappe believes a member of France's World Cup-winning squad deserves to win the 2018 Ballon d'Or next month.
The winner of France Football's annual award will be announced on December 3, with six of Didier Deschamps' squad from Russia 2018 in the running.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – who have both won the award five times in the last decade – are also in contention, although many expect their duopoly to come to an end.
Belgium and Chelsea star Eden Hazard has been praised by some, while Luka Modric has been backed to add the accolade to his The Best FIFA Men's Player award.
Mbappe, who was crowned best young player at the World Cup, is also a hot favourite, but he would be happy to miss out as long as one of his international team-mates wins.
"There are many good candidates this year," he told a media conference. "Many players can win it.
"I hope the winner will be French. It will be a reward for our adventure [the World Cup].
"But it is so close [the results will be so close], I can't make any prediction."