Kylian Mbappe has put his own name forward for the 2026 Ballon d’Or in the bluntest terms he has used yet — and in the same breath handed Lamine Yamal a compliment his rivals will struggle to better. Mbappe on Lamine Yamal, asked which young players he actually enjoys watching, was unhesitating: the Barcelona No.10 “has got it all”. It is an odd sort of endorsement six weeks out from a vote the pair are expected to contest.
The remarks came in an interview with French newspaper L’Equipe, relayed in Spain by Mundo Deportivo and in English by Barca Universal.
Mbappe on Lamine Yamal: ‘He’s got it all’
Pushed on the young players he admires, the Real Madrid forward named the Blaugrana teenager first. “Among the young players, I like Lamine Yamal. He’s got it all,” Mbappe said, before running through a list that took in Estevao, Arda Guler, Endrick, Warren Zaire-Emery and Desire Doue.
Guler and Endrick are his own team-mates, which makes the order telling. The one name he reached for before any of them plays at the Spotify Camp Nou.
‘Nobody had a better season than me’
On his own candidacy Mbappe was equally direct. “Nobody had a better season last year than me,” he told L’Equipe — a claim built almost entirely on output. His second campaign at the Santiago Bernabeu produced goals in volume but none of the major silverware Madrid demand, and the Frenchman is still waiting on a first Ballon d’Or.
That is the whole argument of this year’s race in one sentence. Should a season of individual numbers outweigh a season of trophies? It is the same question Mundo Deportivo columnists have been chewing over all week, and the answer has historically gone against the pure goalscorer.
Why Yamal’s case is not just highlights
Yamal, 19, does not lack for evidence. Last season he won La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup with Barcelona, and he added the World Cup with Spain this summer to the European Championship he had already collected — all before his 20th birthday. In a World Cup year, voters have rarely looked past the tournament winners.
His start to 2026/27 has not hurt either. Against Feyenoord in the Champions League opener he scored his first Barca free-kick, added two assists and completed seven dribbles in a 5-1 win, and did it wearing the armband — club captain Raphinha was rested, making Yamal the youngest captain in Barcelona’s history. Mundo Deportivo count seven goals generated in his first five appearances of the season.
Campaigning, and the refusal to campaign
Everyone around him is making the case. Sporting director Deco called Yamal the outright favourite on RAC1 and described the omission of Pedri and Raphinha from the shortlist as a scandal — a snub we covered when the nominees were confirmed. Hansi Flick and Spain coach Luis de la Fuente have both publicly backed him.
Yamal himself has stayed out of it. “I don’t think I need to campaign to win the Ballon d’Or,” he said before the Feyenoord game, and he has largely let the football talk since. The gala is set for 26 October in London, per Mundo Deportivo, which leaves both contenders another six weeks of matches to shift late votes — Barcelona’s next assignment is Levante in La Liga.
For now, the most quotable line of the week belongs to the man trying to beat him.
