"I think the Ballon d'Or should go to the best player in the world, full stop," Lamine Yamal said in comments reported by dailymail.com. He was talking about the award race, but the line also reads like a challenge to anyone who wants to reduce the prize to a goals column. The voting closes today, and Yamal has made sure his own name is central to it.

Yamal's case goes beyond scoring

His point is backed by the season he has put together for Barcelona. Yamal finished the domestic campaign with 24 goals and 17 assists in 45 appearances, and his most recent run has kept the pressure on the rest of the field. He has also produced 7 goals and 4 assists in 7 La Liga appearances, plus 1 goal and 2 assists in 1 Champions League outing.

That profile helps explain why he is pushing back against a purely scorer-led view of the award. In the same interview, he said: "Being completely honest, it's not just this year I've been at a Ballon d'Or [winning] level, but longer." He then added, "I just have to win, win, win, and there will be a time when there's no debate."

Wembley and the Barcelona platform

The recent reminder came in Spain's 3-2 Nations League win over England at Wembley, where Yamal scored and repeatedly caused problems for England. That followed a season in which Barcelona won La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup, giving him a team context that makes the case harder to dismiss. Yamal also said, in comments translated from French and reported by barcauniversal.com, "We’re in great form at the moment and we’re keen to keep playing entertaining and exciting football."

The award is not settled, and no serious reading should treat it as such. Foot Mercato has reported that bookmakers have moved Yamal into the lead, while the same reporting also says the final answer still has to wait. The ceremony is scheduled in London on October 26, 2026, so the debate will keep running for another month.

For Yamal, though, the argument is already clear enough. He has the numbers, the big-game moments and the platform, starting with Wembley and running through a 24-goal, 17-assist season.

Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 5 outlets. How we work →