Lamine Yamal: “This year I deserve the Ballon d'Or”

Lamine Yamal is convinced that this year he should win the Ballon d’Or. He mentioned it last week “without the need for campaigns” to the press and reaffirms this idea in the interview with Jorge Valdano that Movistar+ will broadcast next Friday.

In the preview of the talk, when asked who should win the award, the Barça star states that both he and Kylian Mbappé are “the two best players in the world,” but argues that the titles won last season with Barça and the World Cup with the Spanish national team are more than enough reasons to be distinguished as the best footballer of 2026.

“I am not happy with my World Cup, I could have done more”

Lamine Yamal

“Who would I give the Ballon d’Or to? To the best player in the world. Who will they give it to? That’s another story. Honestly, I think I deserve it this year, for what I have won. In my opinion, Mbappé and I are the two best players in the world. It’s very obvious, and everyone who watches the matches knows it,” says the 19-year-old winger.

In the interview with Valdano, Lamine Yamal admits not feeling “happy” after winning the World Cup because of his performance and did not want to blame the injury that made him arrive just fit for the tournament. “I did things that people didn’t see. For a coach, it’s incredible that a player drags three players, but I wasn’t happy with myself because I know another player with my performance would have had a great World Cup. I could have done more,” he says, while also expressing eagerness for the next one to come so he can shine more.

This ambitious line is reflected in the last fragment of the talk shared by Movistar+ on social media. “People might think that at some point I will relax. But I know I have a thousand things to do to make my mark in football history,” he assures. He also highlights everything he has already achieved in his youth compared to legends of the sport. “There have been great stars in football, like Leo (Messi), Cristiano (Ronaldo), Diego (Maradona)… but never so early has someone won so much. There is the case of Pelé, but more recently, no.”

There have been great stars like Messi, Cristiano, Maradona… but never so early has someone won so much

Lamine Yamal

Kylian Mbappé, according to Lamine Yamal his only rival in the Ballon d’Or race, in statements to the press last week and later in an extensive interview with France Football, the organization that runs the Ballon d’Or, said he has many chances to win the award for the first time after becoming the all-time top scorer in World Cups this summer. “No one was better than me last season,” he declared, pointing out that he finished as the top scorer in La Liga, the Champions League, and the World Cup, but without winning any team titles.

His French national team teammate and last year’s Ballon d’Or winner, Ousmane Dembélé, insisted that the award should remain “in the hands” of a Paris Saint-Germain player, the current two-time European champion. “Ousmane and Kylian are friends, right?” Lamine Yamal joked at the time, when he said he would not “beg” journalists to win that individual award.