In Riyadh, where João Félix has spent the latest chapter of his career with Al-Nassr, the Portuguese forward has offered a clear view on the race for the 2026 Ballon d’Or: Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal is his choice. With the France Football award now less than a month away, the debate has narrowed around leading names including Yamal, Kylian Mbappé and Harry Kane, but Félix believes the Barcelona teenager has supplied something beyond numbers and trophies.
Félix said the individual prize should belong to a footballer who immediately feels like a lasting star when supporters watch him. In his view, Yamal is the player who makes people stop and stay with a match, describing him simply as “football”. He acknowledged the strong seasons produced by Mbappé and Kane, while also pointing to Yamal’s World Cup triumph as a major factor in a year when international success carries particular weight.
The Al-Nassr attacker is not among the 30 nominees himself, and said that omission has not troubled him. Félix explained that the selection process is outside his control and that he had not even been following the timing of the shortlist announcement. He nevertheless felt he had enjoyed an excellent campaign in Saudi Arabia, a competition he believes is too readily dismissed despite accepting it does not sit among Europe’s leading five leagues.
He added that Portugal’s World Cup route may have changed his own prospects had the team progressed deeper into the tournament, but insisted he remains relaxed about the outcome.
A field stretching from Barcelona to Riyadh
Yamal’s candidacy comes in a varied 30-man selection spanning Europe’s established powers and the wider international game. Mbappé and Kane remain prominent contenders, while Mexican forward Julián Quiñones is one of the more unexpected inclusions. Lionel Messi, Sadio Mané and Félix’s Al-Nassr environment are also represented through the wider global reach of the list.
- Jude Bellingham, Pau Cubarsí, Marc Cucurella, Ousmane Dembélé and Luis Díaz
- Bruno Fernandes, Gabriel, Erling Haaland, Achraf Hakimi and Harry Kane
- Khvitcha Kvaratskhelia, Lamine Yamal, Sadio Mané, Marquinhos and Lautaro Martínez
- Kylian Mbappé, Nuno Mendes, Lionel Messi, João Neves and Michael Olise
- Willian Pacho, Julián Quiñones, Declan Rice, Rodri and Fabián Ruiz
- William Saliba, Ferran Torres, Dayot Upamecano, Vinícius Jr. and Vitinha
For Félix, however, the vote need not become an argument purely over the season’s most familiar statistics. His preference rests on the sense that Yamal has become the player capable of turning an ordinary television evening into an appointment.
