Lamine Yamal is prepared for Thursday’s UEFA Nations League clash between Spain and France to be considered a Ballon d’Or decider with Ousmane Dembélé, even if he doesn’t agree it should.
Yamal is a contender to become the youngest ever Ballon d’Or winner thanks to his starring role in Barcelona’s La Liga, Copa del Rey, Supercopa de España domestic treble. But Dembélé is fierce competition for the individual honor after his Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League in style, making them only the ninth club in history to win a European treble. Yamal’s Barcelona teammate Raphinha and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah would also be credible recipients of the famous gold trophy.
That Yamal and Dembélé are facing each other on international duty has led to hype that whoever wins this Nations League semifinal will go on to also claim the Ballon d’Or come September.
“Who do you vote for: the best player this season or whoever wins the game on Thursday? For me, it's the best player across the whole year, but everyone sees it their own way,” Yamal said on El Partizado de COPE. “I am confident we will win Thursday, but whether we win or not, I would vote for the best player over the whole year.
“If on Thursday it doesn’t go as me or Dembélé want, then who do you vote for? Someone playing on Sunday [in the Nations League final]? For me, it’s based on the whole year, but if people want to put it all on Thursday, then let’s play.”
Dembélé’s Ballon d’Or prospects could yet be boosted by how PSG perform in the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup, a competition that Barcelona and Yamal are not part of.
But even if Yamal doesn’t win the Ballon d’Or in 2025, he could still break the record as youngest ever if he is awarded it in 2026, 2027 or 2028. The current record holder is Brazilian legend Ronaldo Nazário, who was aged 21 years and three months for his first Ballon d’Or in December 1997.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Let’s Play’—Lamine Yamal Sends Ballon d’Or Challenge to Main Rival.
