Joao Felix backs Lamine Yamal for Ballon d’Or after standout season

Joao Felix has chosen Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal as his pick to win the Ballon d’Or, praising the teenager’s contribution throughout the season.

Yamal is competing with Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane for the award, with the announcement of the winner expected in the coming period.

Speaking to Spanish newspaper AS, Al Nassr player Joao Felix explained the qualities he believes should define a Ballon d’Or winner.

“I have always felt that the Ballon d’Or should go to the player you watch and think: ‘This is a star and he deserves to have his name immortalised in football,’” he said.

Felix added that Yamal was the player who best fitted that description.

“If there is a player you turn on the television to watch and remain glued to the screen for, it is Lamine,” he said.

“Mbappe and Harry Kane both had an excellent season, that is true, but Lamine is football.”

Felix also highlighted Yamal’s success in winning the World Cup, saying achievements in that tournament can have a major influence on the Ballon d’Or vote.

“On top of that, he won the World Cup, and in World Cup years, winning it is extremely important in getting closer to the Ballon d’Or,” he said.

The Portugal international also discussed his own absence from the list of nominees. Felix said he had not been concerned by the decision because the process was outside his control.

“These are not things that depend on me, and I do not know who chooses the list or who does not,” he said. “I was not worried about it. I did not even know when the list was going to be announced.”

Felix said he remained relaxed about his prospects and defended the standard of the Saudi league, while acknowledging that it is not regarded among the leading competitions in world football.

“I am calm about it,” he said. “People undervalue the Saudi league. It is certainly not one of the top five leagues, but it is a good league.”

He maintained that he had produced a strong campaign, while accepting that a deeper run at the World Cup might have improved his chances of being nominated.

“I had an excellent season, but I am calm,” Felix said. “Perhaps if we had reached the later stages of the World Cup, I could have been included on the list, but I do not know.”