Ballon d’Or: I thought I would win it – Lamine Yamal

Barcelona forward, Lamine Yamal, has said he thought he would win the Ballon d’Or ahead of PSG’s Ousmane Dembele last year.

The Spaniard finished as runner-up behind Dembele in the voting.

Yamal has now admitted it was probably better that he didn’t win it.

He said: “I thought I was going to win it that day in 2025 because of many things that happened. Looking back, I think it was very good for me that Dembélé won it.

“Beyond helping me grow personally, I don’t think it was the right time for me to win it because I was still a kid and probably wouldn’t have appreciated what it really means to win a Ballon d’Or. Let’s see if this year is mine!”.