Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal has said he deserves to win the 2026 Ballon d'Or and that Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé is his only real rival for the award.
The 19-year-old, who won the World Cup with Spain this summer, made the claim in an interview set to air in full next Friday on Movistar+.
Asked who he would give the Ballon d'Or to, Yamal said it would go to the best player in the world, adding that who actually receives it is a different matter altogether. He said he sincerely believed he deserved the award this year given what he had won, including the Liga title and the World Cup. He said that, in his view, he and Mbappe were the two best players in the world, and that this was obvious to anyone who watched the matches.
Yamal's tone was notably more measured on Tuesday, when he told a press conference he would not "beg" journalists to hand him the 2026 Ballon d'Or, even though he described his own season as "incredible."
Mbappe stakes his claim
Mbappe struck a similarly confident note. Speaking to reporters on Monday and later in a lengthy interview with France Football, the magazine that organizes the Ballon d'Or, the Real Madrid striker said he had a strong chance of winning the award for the first time after becoming the all-time top scorer in World Cup history this summer.
He said no one had been better than him last season, pointing out that he had finished as the top scorer in Liga, the Champions League and the World Cup, despite not winning a single team trophy.
Yamal's world champion status with Spain and Mbappe's scoring records this year have made the two forwards the leading names in this year's race, with each publicly framing the other as their main competition.
Dembele backs a PSG winner
Not everyone agrees the trophy should go to either man. Ousmane Dembele, Yamal and Mbappe's French national team teammate and last year's Ballon d'Or winner, said the award needed to stay "in the hands" of a Paris Saint-Germain player. Paris Saint-Germain are the reigning two-time European champions.
Ceremony set for October
The Ballon d'Or, awarded annually by France Football to the best player in the world, is due to be presented on October 26 in London. That leaves the leading candidates several more weeks to press their case before the winner is announced.
