Lamine Yamal’s Ballon d’Or claim has found its first prominent critic inside the Barça family.
A day after the Barcelona forward told Jorge Valdano that he believes the award should be his this year, former Blaugrana defender Abelardo Fernández argued that the No.10 would have been better off keeping that particular thought to himself.
What Abelardo said about Lamine Yamal’s Ballon d’Or claim
Abelardo, who spent eight years at Barcelona and won 54 caps for Spain, was careful to separate the belief from the broadcasting of it. His objection was not that Lamine rates himself among the two best players on the planet. It was that he said so out loud, with the votes still being counted.
“You can think that, but you shouldn’t say it,” Abelardo said, in comments carried by Barca Universal. “I don’t think so, because it makes you look bad.”
His suggestion was that there was a version of the same answer that cost nothing. “You’re not conveying anything positive in that regard. I think you can think it and say, ‘Well, I might be among the favourites, but with these awards, you never know who they’ll go to,’” he added.
Crucially, the criticism was not aimed at the Barcelona winger alone. Abelardo made clear he had disliked Kylian Mbappé’s recent remarks about his own Ballon d’Or prospects just as much – this was a complaint about a habit, not about one teenager from Rocafonda.
What Lamine Yamal actually said
The comments that prompted all this came in Lamine’s interview with Valdano, where he was asked directly about the race and made no attempt to duck it.
“I think I deserve the Ballon d’Or this year, given what I’ve won,” he said. “I honestly believe there are two of us who are the best in the world, and this year I’d deserve it for what I’ve won. For me, Mbappé and I are the two best in the world. It’s clear to me, and everyone who watches the matches knows it.”
It is worth remembering the context: he was asked. Barça supporters will point out that the alternative – a polished non-answer about how it is an honour simply to be nominated – would have been the safer play, and a far less interesting one.
The case Lamine Yamal is building on the pitch
The “what I’ve won” line is doing heavy lifting, and it is not empty. Lamine finished last season with 24 goals and 18 assists as Barcelona took LaLiga and the Supercopa, then went to the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada and came home with a winners’ medal – one of eight Barça players in that Spain squad, alongside Rodri, Pedri, Cubarsí, Dani Olmo, Joan García, Eric García and Gavi.
This season has continued in the same register. His brace in Sunday’s 4-2 win at Levante took him to six LaLiga goals, level at the top of the Pichichi standings with Raphinha, Mbappé and Levante’s own Camello, as Mundo Deportivo noted. One of the two was a penalty he won himself; he walked off with the man-of-the-match award.
Six weeks until the envelope is opened
The gala takes place in London on Monday 26 October, which leaves a month and a half of matches for the argument to be settled on grass rather than in interviews. Flick’s side have won all six of their competitive games so far, and the other Barcelona forward in ferocious form, Raphinha, was not even among the 30 nominees despite eight goals across LaLiga and the Champions League.
Abelardo’s point is a fair one about presentation. Whether it costs Lamine a single vote is another matter entirely – the ballots were cast long before he sat down with Valdano.
