Lamine Yamal believes he has done enough to deserve the Ballon d’Or after a 2025-26 season in which he won the FIFA 2026 World Cup with Spain and the La Liga title with Barcelona. At 19, he is being talked about as one of the top three contenders, with Cubarsi part of the wider Barcelona story around a team that has stayed at the centre of the game’s biggest prizes.
The scale of the challenge is clear. The Ballon d’Or has never been won by a teenager, and the award’s 70-year history means Yamal is pushing against a barrier that has stood for generations. But his numbers and trophies give the argument real weight, especially after a season that also included the Spanish Super Cup for Barcelona’s squad.
Why Yamal’s case is so strong
Yamal’s bid is built on both output and silverware. In 2025-26 he recorded 22 goals and 15 assists in 38 league appearances, while also helping Spain to World Cup success and Barcelona to the La Liga title. That is the sort of all-round season that naturally puts a player into the Ballon d’Or debate.
He is not being framed as the only serious name in the race, though. Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe are also in the discussion, and Yamal has made it clear who he sees as his biggest rival.
“For me, Mbappe and me, we’re the two best players in the world,” Yamal said.
He was even more direct when asked about the award itself. “I honestly think that, as the best in the world, maybe there are two of us, and this year I would deserve it because of what I’ve won,” he said.
The teenager chasing history
The comparison with Ronaldo Nazario is part of what makes this so striking. Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or at 21 in 1997, and that remains one of the landmark age markers in the award’s modern history. Yamal is younger still, and the fact that he is already being spoken about in the same breath tells you how fast his rise has been.
That rise has been rapid in another sense too. Three years ago, Yamal made his first-team debut. Now he is being discussed as a genuine contender for football’s most prestigious individual prize, with his club and international achievements giving the case real substance rather than just hype.
For Barcelona and Spain, that is the reward for a player who has become central to both. For Yamal, it is the next step in a career that is already moving at remarkable speed. If the Ballon d’Or is ultimately decided on a mix of impact, trophies and individual quality, then his 2025-26 season ensures he will be taken seriously right to the end.
