From Barcelona’s terraces to the wider European conversation around football’s biggest individual prize, João Félix has placed Lamine Yamal at the front of his Ballon d’Or thinking. The Portuguese forward believes the teenage winger possesses the rare ability to make supporters stop and watch, a quality he sees as central to the award.
Félix, who shared a dressing room with Yamal during his spell at Barcelona, acknowledged the strong campaigns of Kylian Mbappé and Harry Kane. Yet he chose the Spain international ahead of both, arguing that Yamal offers something beyond numbers and conventional measures of a season.
“I have always felt the Ballon d’Or should go to the player you watch and think, ‘wow’,” Félix said. “It should be someone who is a star, someone football will remember. If there is one player who makes you switch on the television and stay there, it is Lamine.”
A former Barcelona teammate’s view
Yamal began to take on a larger role at Barcelona during the season Félix spent with the Catalan club, eventually establishing himself as a regular. Félix said he still enjoys watching Barcelona, with Yamal’s presence providing a particular reason to follow the team.
The Portuguese forward praised the winger’s reading of the game and his capacity to turn an appearance on the pitch into an occasion for the crowd in the stadium and viewers at home.
“Mbappé and Kane have had very good seasons, of course, but Lamine is football in its purest form,” Félix said.
Félix also pointed to the importance of the World Cup in any Ballon d’Or race that falls in a tournament year. In his view, lifting the global trophy can prove decisive for a player hoping to move closest to the individual honour.
“When it is a World Cup year, winning it is always hugely important if you want to get near the Ballon d’Or,” he said.
