MANCHESTER, England (AP) — By the age of 19 Kylian Mbappe had won the World Cup, become one of the most expensive soccer players ever and was labeled the heir-apparent to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Seven years later, and with Messi and Ronaldo long past their peak, Mbappe is still to be officially recognized as the best player in the world.

If anything, he is going backward.

By the most recent measure he was ranked seventh. That’s where he placed in this year’s voting for the Ballon d’Or — the sport’s biggest individual prize — which, last week, was won by Mbappe’s France teammate Ousmane Dembele.

“You deserve it x1000,” Mbappe graciously posted on social media.

In second place was teenage sensation Lamine Yamal — a player of such prodigious talent that he is now the one pred

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