Yamal Confident for Ballon d'Or Without Campaigning

Yamal, a 19-year-old player for Barcelona, stated he does not need to campaign for the Ballon d'Or, reflecting on an outstanding year where he helped Barcelona retain the LaLiga title and Spain win the World Cup. His comments followed Kylian Mbappe's remarks about his own candidacy for the award after winning the Golden Boot at the World Cup.

Yamal finished second in last year's Ballon d'Or voting behind PSG's Ousmane Dembele and expressed satisfaction with his accomplishments, saying, “I’m proud of everything I’ve done this year.” He mentioned his recent return to form after a hamstring injury and noted his happiness at winning the World Cup and having the best holidays of his life. Yamal is also a favorite for the best young player award at the Ballon d'Or ceremony scheduled for October 26 in London, where he is nominated alongside Johan Manzambi, Yan Diomande, and Ayyoub Bouaddi.