Ballon d'Or 2026: Lamine Yamal discusses the criteria for winning the trophy

While the candidates for the 2026 Ballon d’Or are giving more and more interviews to convince the selected journalists to vote for them, Lamine Yamal is very active in this exercise, just like Kylian Mbappé.

In recent hours, Lamine Yamal spoke to L’Équipe. The Barcelona star, a World Cup winner with Spain, explained what he believes are the main criteria for lifting the trophy on October 26 in London.

“The Ballon d’Or, as you call it, is the trophy that rewards the best player of the year, the different player, the one people enjoy watching so much that they watch a match just for him. I think that is 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, who are different and make you smile when you watch them. I think that everyone who watches football knows what my arguments are. I go out onto the pitch, enjoy myself, play well and play the way I want to. Fortunately, I have also been able to win many titles with Barça and I have also been able to win the most important title, the World Cup, with my national team. But beyond that, I think that the way I play is my strongest argument; it is what makes me different,” he declared.

Read also: Ballon d'Or 2026: Raphinha backs Lamine Yamal

Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.

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