Yamal backs his Ballon d’Or chances but rejects ‘begging’ for votes

Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal says he has a strong chance of winning the Ballon d’Or but insists he will not launch a personal campaign or “beg” for votes. The 19-year-old spoke ahead of Barcelona’s Champions League opener against Feyenoord, where he also discussed the club’s ambitions, his new leadership role and his relationship with Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele.

Barcelona are motivated by the fact that the Champions League is the major trophy missing from their collection, according to Yamal. He said the absence of that title provides the squad with an especially powerful incentive as they begin their European campaign.

“There is no greater motivation than knowing the Champions League is the trophy left for you to win. It is the competition we still need to win. We have great players such as Rodri, Gordon and Adeyemi, and we will try to achieve it,” said Yamal.

The teenager recently wore the Barcelona captain’s armband after becoming the fifth player in the club’s captaincy order. He described the responsibility as a major honour, while acknowledging that it also placed greater expectations on him to help his team-mates.

“It is a great honour to captain Barcelona at the age of 19, and I am very grateful to my team-mates. It makes me more responsible. Even though I am 19, I will try to give my best for the team,” he said.

Yamal did not shy away from his status as one of the leading candidates for the Ballon d’Or. However, he stressed that the final decision rests with the voters, rather than with him, and said his performances for Barcelona and Spain would be the most important factors in determining his prospects.

“The first thing is that it does not depend on me; it depends on you,” he told reporters, referring to the media. “The work we have done with the team and the national side has been great. If it happens, the first thing I will do is be grateful to my club and my country. I think I have a great chance, but we will see.”

He also made clear that he had no intention of seeking votes through a public campaign, in contrast with Real Madrid forward Mbappe, who has claimed he deserves the award.

“I do not think I need to do that because I am not thinking about it. I am proud of my team and my national side. We are world champions and I could not ask for more. That is your job, and I am not going to start begging for something,” Yamal said.

Asked about Dembele’s Ballon d’Or selections, which did not include him, Yamal responded with a reference to the Frenchman’s friendship with Mbappe.

“Who did not include me? Dembele? He is Kylian’s friend, isn’t he? I am very happy. In the matches when I played against both of them, I must have annoyed them for some reason, but my relationship with Ousmane is very good,” he said.

Yamal’s most recent meeting with the two France internationals came in the World Cup semi-final, when Spain eliminated France with a 2-0 victory.

The Barcelona forward also addressed his defensive responsibilities, particularly his role in pressing after possession is lost. He said his importance in attack did not exempt him from working for the side, arguing that running and pressing were essential if Barcelona were to challenge for trophies.

“We only need to look at the teams that have won trophies recently. We saw Paris Saint-Germain. If you do not run, every team will beat you. For the team, if we want to win, we have to run. If you do not run, you will lose,” he said.

Yamal explained that his visibly angry reaction to being substituted during Barcelona’s La Liga match against Elche was not linked to any major dispute. He said the conditions had left him exhausted, but suggested the incident had been overanalysed.

“I do not know; it depends on the day and how I feel. What happened at Elche was simply because it was extremely hot and I was tired. You created 40,000 stories about it, when the only truth was that we were playing in 40-degree heat,” he said.

Despite the intense media attention around him, Yamal said he was surprised by the scale of the coverage. He described the current period as the happiest of his life after Spain’s World Cup triumph and what he called the best holiday he had ever enjoyed.

“I am very happy, and I do not know why so much is being said about me. I have just returned from winning the World Cup and had the best holiday of my life. I do not know why people are talking about me so much; this is the happiest moment of my life,” he said.

Yamal added that he was not afraid of taking on greater leadership duties in the future. He said Barcelona had enough players capable of wearing the armband if head coach Hansi Flick eventually decided to give him the responsibility.

“I am not afraid of being that person. We have enough players if the manager decides to do that one day,” he said.