Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal said he won’t “beg” to be given the Ballon d’Or after helping Spain win the World Cup this summer.
Football’s most coveted individual prize will be awarded on Oct. 26 in London, with Yamal one of the candidates in a very open field to be named the world’s best player.
Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé is also considered a potential winner, with the France forward stating his case to win the award this week despite a trophy-less season with club and country.
“Firstly, it doesn’t depend on me [who wins the Ballon d’Or], it depends on you [the media],” Yamal said in a news conference ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League opener against Feyenoord.
“This year has been incredible, with Barça and with Spain. There’s a chance I could win it because I have had a great year.
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“I don’t think I need to run a campaign. I am proud of the year I had, winning the World Cup and LaLiga. I can’t ask for anything else.
“There are other players who have been at an incredible level. But it’s your job [to decide]; I am not going to beg for anything.”
Yamal was told last year’s winner, Paris Saint-Germain and France’s Ousmane Dembélé, didn’t include him in his top three for this year’s prize, instead opting for Mbappé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Harry Kane.
“He’s Kylian’s friend, no?” the Barça teenager joked when told about Dembélé’s picks.
“It doesn’t bother me, genuinely. I am very happy with the year I had. When I came up against them [Mbappé and Dembélé at the World Cup], I won.
“I get on very well with Ousmane. I understand he wants to go with other players, but I am happy with the year I had.”
Yamal, 19, scored 24 goals and provided 18 assists last season as Barça won LaLiga and the Spanish Supercopa.
He was then part of the Spain squad which won the World Cup this past summer, following up success in the European Championships in 2024, and the only major title he is now missing is the Champions League.
“There is no bigger motivation than winning the Champions League,” Yamal said. “Everyone wants to win it, it’s the most special competition there is.
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“This season, collectively, I want to keep winning trophies and [a first] Champions League.
“Individually, the goal is to keep growing. I have a lot to room to improve as a young player, so that’s my objective.”
After being nominated on Tuesday for Ballon d’Or Men’s Young Talent of the Year alongside teammate Pau Cubarsí, Yamal said of Cubarsí on Instagram: “He’s the only one.”
Barça strengthened in the summer with the additions of Rodri and Anthony Gordon, among others, as they look to win a first Champions League trophy since 2015.
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They have started well in LaLiga, winning all four of their opening games and scoring 17 goals in the process, and kick off their European campaign at Spotify Camp Nou against Dutch side Feyenoord this week.
After reaching the semifinal and then the quarterfinal under Hansi Flick in the last two years, the German coach believes his team can go one better this season.
“Every big club dreams about this because it’s the best competition,” Flick said in a news conference ahead of Barça’s Champions League opener.
“We have the quality to win this, but it’s a long way. It’s just started, but we have to show it, not only in LaLiga but in the Champions League, this is what we have to do.”
