In Barcelona, where the next Clásico is never far from the conversation, Lamine Yamal has framed his individual duel with Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé as a contest between two players he considers football’s leading figures. The Barça forward believes his team honours over the past year should put him ahead in the race for the Ballon d’Or.
A rivalry stretching beyond the Clásico
Yamal described the rivalry as an inevitable consequence of representing Spain’s two defining clubs. Mbappé wears Real Madrid white, while the young Spain international has emerged as one of Barcelona’s principal attacking names.
- Yamal said that he and Mbappé are in direct competition because of their respective clubs.
- He argued that Barcelona’s trophies over the last year give him an advantage over the French forward.
- The winger said both players could be regarded as the best in the world, but stated that he deserves this year’s Ballon d’Or.
“Mbappé is at Real Madrid and I am at Barça, so there is a direct rivalry between us,” Yamal said. “I have won more titles than him. I think Mbappé and I could be the best players in the world and, this year, I believe I deserve it.”
Yamal’s view of the Ballon d’Or
The Barcelona academy graduate distinguished between collective success and an individual award, maintaining that the Ballon d’Or should identify the game’s outstanding player rather than simply reward the player from the most successful international side.
He said even a World Cup triumph for England would not alter his assessment of the two contenders.
“The Ballon d’Or is not about who wins; it is about who is the best player. Those are different things,” Yamal said. “Even if England had won the World Cup, I would still say that Mbappé and I are the two best players in the world.”
Another thread in Spain’s biggest fixture
The comments add a personal edge to the wider Barcelona-Real Madrid contest, one that runs through LaLiga and into the European season. For Yamal, the argument is not merely about a trophy on an awards night, but about who sets the standard on either side of Spanish football’s most enduring divide.
