Lamine Yamal's mature answer about Ballon d'Or: "People have the wrong concept"

Lamine Yamal is one of the frontrunners for the Ballon d'Or this year, which would make him the youngest ever to win it, aged 18 (but based on a season he played aged 17). The young Barça star conceded last night an interview with radio station Cadena Ser in Spain, when he was asked who he considers should win the award, and specifically, his potential rivalry with Ousmane Dembélé, the other player with high chances of winning, specially after the Champions League final where he gave two assists.

Asked about who he'd vote for Ballon d'Or, he stated: "I would vote for any Barça player before Dembelé, because I'm a Barça fan. Anyone". However, he adds that "if you ask someone from PSG, they'll say Dembelé, and if you ask someone from Real Madrid, they'll say Kylian Mbappé".

Yamal knows that, regarding preferences for Ballon d'Or, everything is relative, even within his own team. When pressed to choose, Yamal still refuses to give a single name. "Pedri, Raphinha, or myself? It depends, I don't know. How I see it is different from how other people see it."

Lamine Yamal thinks people don't understand Ballon d'Or

The one thing he is certain about is that the choice should not be made over a single match, knowing that, in two days, Yamal will face Dembélé (as well as Mbappé or Doué) in a Spain vs. France Nations League match. "People have the wrong concept about Ballon d'Or. For me, the Ballon d'Or is not the one who wins a match, it's the best player of the year", adding that, if he were to vote himself, he would never base his decision on the result of a single match.