For Lamine Yamal, the Ballon d’Or should above all recognize a player who can provide enjoyment and make football fans want to watch a match simply because he is playing. The Spain international also believes that his style of play, rather than his statistics or the trophies he has won, is his strongest argument.
Fresh from being crowned world champion with Spain this summer and after making a flying start to the new club season with FC Barcelona, Lamine Yamal sat down with L’Équipe for an extensive interview in which the forward discussed his career, the World Cup and the Ballon d’Or.
Asked about his view of the most prestigious individual award in football, Lamine Yamal said the Ballon d’Or should not simply reward the number of goals a player scores. The young Catalan cited Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho as examples of “different” players who were capable of putting smiles on spectators’ faces, and believes that the way he plays is his strongest argument.
A different kind of Ballon d’Or candidate
Lamine Yamal, FC Barcelona forward, on his view of the Ballon d’Or:
“The Ballon d’Or, as you say, is the trophy that rewards the best player of the year — the different player, the one you enjoy watching so much that you watch a match simply because of him. I think that’s what a different player is. It has nothing to do with the number of goals he scores or anything else. When I think of the Ballon d’Or, I think of [Lionel] Messi, Ronaldinho and players like them, players who are different and who make you smile when you watch them.
“I think everyone who watches football knows what my arguments are. I go out onto the pitch, I enjoy myself, I play well and I play the way I want to. Thankfully, I’ve also been able to win a lot of trophies with Barça, and I’ve also won the most important title, the World Cup, with my national team. But beyond that, I think my way of playing is my strongest argument. That’s what makes me different.
On his candidacy, which meets both the team and individual criteria: I think that makes me a good candidate. In the end, that’s very important because, beyond being a good player, I think the best player always helps his team win. When your team wins, everyone stands out more and everyone shines more. And, thank God, we’ve been winning with the national team for a year now. We’re winning with Barça too. We’re very happy and we want to keep winning. Personally, I’m very happy.”
“I want to make history”
Two weeks ago, Lamine Yamal officially launched his campaign for the 2026 Ballon d’Or by giving an interview to Jorge Valdano, the former Real Madrid forward and sporting director. During the interview, filmed by Movistar+ cameras, the Barcelona winger placed himself among the greatest players in football history:
“There have been great football stars, like Leo [Messi], Cristiano [Ronaldo], Diego [Maradona]... But no one had ever achieved so much at such a young age. There’s the case of Pelé, but more recently, no.”
The 19-year-old world champion expanded on those comments during a lengthy interview with L’Équipe last week.
“I play to make history, so that 30 years from now, young people will say: ‘He was really very good too,’” Lamine Yamal said. “But it’s not an obsession. I never think, ‘I want to be better than Pelé, better than Messi.’ I don’t want to compare myself to anyone. I want to be Lamine Yamal. I want people to remember me as Lamine Yamal, and I hope to be among the greats.”
Confidence, not arrogance
Lamine Yamal rarely goes unnoticed. Just over three years after making his professional debut at the age of... 15, the Barcelona prodigy is now a three-time Spanish champion (2023, 2025, 2026), the reigning European and world champion, and one of the favorites for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, having finished second in the voting a year earlier behind Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembélé.
Since his debut, he has been described as a precociously talented player with extraordinary ability. However, some people have occasionally viewed him as arrogant, or even provocative, because of the confidence he displays when speaking publicly. It is an assessment the player himself does not share.
“I think the people who say that actually have fun with me anyway,” said the Spanish winger, who gave a lengthy interview to L’Équipe. “When there’s a press conference, I like listening to people who speak from the heart, who express themselves sincerely and make me laugh. So, naturally, people are mistaken when they put that label on me. (...) I feel like people aren’t used to someone answering sincerely.”
Looking back at the France semi-final
Just over two months ago, France’s hopes of winning a third star ended after they were beaten by a superior Spain side in the World Cup semi-finals (0-2, July 14).
“It was a special match,” Lamine Yamal recalled in a lengthy interview with L’Équipe. “We are two great national teams, but things went our way. We played an incredible match and played the way we wanted to play (...). We dominated and managed to impose our style of play.”
“In matches against France, there are two options,” explained the Spain winger. “Either it’s an open game with counter-attacks, and in that case France will probably end up killing you because they have great players up front; or you keep the ball and dominate. The match started well for us with the 1-0, we began to have possession, and with so many high-quality players, when you have the ball, it eventually creates a huge gap.”
On July 14, 2026, Spain opened the scoring from a penalty awarded against Lucas Digne for a foul on... Lamine Yamal, which Mikel Oyarzabal converted moments later (1-0, 22nd minute). But according to the Barcelona star, that incident alone did not determine the outcome of the match, as France coach Didier Deschamps and captain Kylian Mbappé had suggested at the time:
“It was a play that we won. In this particular case, I was the one who won the penalty, but I think that at 1-0, a thousand things could still have happened.”
