Lamine Yamal Calls Messi Best Player of 2026 World Cup

Lamine Yamal, a forward for Barcelona, praised Lionel Messi as the best player at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, expressing his admiration in separate Facebook posts. Yamal thanked Messi for his personal support after what he described as a “difficult night.” He stated, “No player was better than Messi in the 2026 FIFA World Cup!” and expressed gratitude for Messi's call to check on his well-being, saying, “Your words meant a lot to me, especially after a difficult night.” Yamal finished third in the 2026 Ballon d'Or rankings, announced at a ceremony in London, trailing behind winner Harry Kane and runner-up Kylian Mbappe.

While Yamal did not explicitly connect his “difficult night” to the Ballon d'Or results or confirm if Messi's call was prompted by this, he acknowledged the significance of Messi's encouragement. Messi, an eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, remains a highly decorated player, having led Argentina to victory in the 2022 World Cup.