Football
'I deserve it this year': Lamine Yamal makes bold Ballon d'Or claim
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The race for the Ballon d'Or has been heated up after Lamine Yamal lit the fuse ahead of the awards by claiming he deserves to lift this year's Golden Ball.
Last week, the full nominations for football's biggest individual gongs were revealed, with the teenage sensation among a list of 30 men who have been shortlisted to lift the famous trophy at next month's ceremony - one which you can see live and free-to-air on DAZN.
Yamal has been installed as one of the favourites for the Ballon d'Or thanks to a season where he played an integral part in Barcelona retaining La Liga and was part of Spain's World Cup-winning squad in North America.
With those accolades in the bag, you'd think the 19-year-old would stay humble and let his football do the talking, but Yamal has kicked-off his own rhetoric for the award and claimed he is fully deserving of being this year's Ballon d'Or winner.
“I think I deserve it this year, because of what I’ve won," he admitted after this weekend's win over Levante.
“I sincerely believe that there are two of us who are the best in the world, and this year I deserve it for what I’ve won."
As well as being the cheerleader for his own chances of winning the award, the forward also hailed the performances of La Liga rival Kylian Mbappe, who's also one of the front runners to add his name to football's prestigious list of names.
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However, in a snub to the outright favourite, there was no mention from Yamal of Harry Kane, with him setting himself and Mbappe as football's current two leading lights.
Adding, “For me, Mbappe and I are the two best in the world. For me, it’s clear, and everyone who watches the matches knows it.”
Yamal had 28 goal involvements in 2025-26 as Barcelona retained their title but failed to make a real impact in the Champions League. And, although he picked up a World Cup winner's medal, he wasn't at his best during the summer having suffered from an injury going into the tournament.
This season, however, he has picked up where his league form left off last term. Scoring braces in three of the five league games so far, as well as two assists.
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Find out which two players will be crowned the best male and female player on the planet on Monday, October 26 at the Ballon d’Or awards. Watch exclusively worldwide live and FREE on DAZN (check for excluded territories)
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