Lamine Yamal finally opened up about Ballon d’Or race against Kylian Mbappe as he made bombshell claims.
According to Barca Universal, the 19-year-old, who on Sunday, September 13, scored twice for Barcelona during hard fought 4-2 won over Levante in LaLiga, has called him the best choice for the Ballon d’Or award.
The Barcelona forward made the claim in a preview of his upcoming interview with Universo Valdano, shortly after scoring twice against Valencia.
With the Ballon d’Or ceremony scheduled for 26 October in London, Yamal was asked who he would give the award to.
“Who would I give it to? The best player in the world. Who are they going to give it to?
“Honestly, as the best in the world, I think there might be two of us, me and Mbappe, but I think this year I’d deserve it for what I’ve achieved. Everyone who watches the matches knows that,” the Barça forward said.
Yamal helped Barcelona win La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup last season while setting new personal scoring benchmarks, finishing with 24 goals and 18 assists.
His international campaign brought another major honour, with Spain lifting the World Cup. Yet Yamal admits the tournament did not leave him satisfied with his own contribution.
“After winning the World Cup, I wasn’t happy. It’s true about the injury, but that’s got nothing to do with it. I know that if the World Cup were to come around again, I’d have performed just as well if I hadn’t had the injury. I did a lot of things that people didn’t see. But for me, I could have done more. I did help the team, but I’m really looking forward to the next one,” he added.
Yamal has already collected an extraordinary list of honours for a player who is still only 19: a European Championship, a World Cup, three La Liga titles, two Spanish Super Cups and a Copa del Rey.
