Is Lamine Yamal begging for the Ballon d’Or?

Lamine Yamal said he was not going to beg for the Ballon d’Or. But over the last few weeks, he has spent quite a lot of time explaining why he should win it. 

First, Yamal said the award was not in his hands and that he had no intention of begging journalists to vote for him. Then, a few days later, he said he and Kylian Mbappé were the two best players in the world before adding that he believed he had earned the trophy because of what he had won.

Then came another interview, where Yamal explained that anybody who watches football already knows his arguments and that his style of play should count for something too. But if this is Yamal’s version of “not campaigning”, he is certainly doing a rather thorough job of it.

“I’m not begging” was never going to work

On September 8, after Ousmane Dembélé backed Kylian Mbappé for the award, Yamal tried to act tough by insinuating he’d let the voters do their jobs, claiming he had already done his work for Barcelona and Spain.

Fair enough. But a few days later, he told Movistar that he and Mbappé were the two best players in the world. He praised Mbappé, but also made it clear that he believed the trophy should be his, reminding everyone of his medals in the past season.

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Well, that is not technically begging. But it is a very detailed explanation of why everyone should vote for you, which Yamal has done enough of on the pitch.

Yamal actually has a serious case

This is where the joke should stop for a second. Yamal is not making noise without anything to back it up. He won the LaLiga and Spanish Super Cup with Barcelona, then helped Spain win the 2026 World Cup. He finished with 25 goals and 20 assists in 57 appearances, and was named LaLiga’s best player for the season.

His numbers are excellent. His trophy cabinet is getting crowded. And his influence on both Barcelona and Spain was obvious enough to put him among the 30 Ballon d’Or nominees.

In his September 22 interview with L’Équipe, Yamal went beyond goals, assists and trophies. He argued that the award should recognize a player who makes people want to watch football just for him, and said his way of playing is one of his strongest arguments.

Again, he is not wrong. His football last season gives him plenty to talk about.

But…Let the football do the talking

The interesting thing about Yamal is that he does not seem particularly interested in hiding his ambition. He wants to win major trophies, break records and eventually be remembered as one of the greats. In another L’Équipe interview, he spoke openly about wanting to make history and build his own legacy.

There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, the confidence is part of what makes him so entertaining. But there is a difference between believing you have done enough and repeatedly explaining why everybody else should believe it too.

Yamal is getting very close to the second one.

The competition is not exactly short of big names

Yamal is not the only player with a serious claim this year. Mbappé is on the list after scoring 25 goals in LaLiga and 15 in the Champions League, before winning the World Cup Golden Boot with France. Ousmane Dembélé is the defending Ballon d’Or winner. Harry Kane had a huge season with Bayern Munich, while Jude Bellingham and Vinícius Júnior also made the 30-man shortlist. 

There are different ways to judge the award, and each contender brings a different argument. That makes Yamal’s repeated explanations understandable. He knows there is a lot of competition, and he clearly wants voters to remember what he did last season.

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The 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony is on October 26 in London. By then, the voters will have made their decision. Though Yamal has every right to believe he belongs in the conversation, he also seems determined to make sure nobody forgets that he belongs there.