Gerard Pique says he would like Lamine Yamal to win the Ballon d'Or, labelling the youngster as "special".

Yamal and Ousmane Dembele are among the favourites to lift the accolade this year after stellar campaigns for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, respectively.

Barca won the LaLiga title, the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa de Espana this term, with Yamal registering 18 goals and 21 assists in all competitions. Only Raphinha (27) bettered the latter figure across the squad.

Remarkably, Yamal led the charts in LaLiga for assists (13), shots from outside the area (67), big chances created (28), shots following a carry (56), chances created following a carry (35), throughballs (33) and dribbles completed (161) in 2024-25.

Meanwhile, Dembele was part of PSG's treble-winning team, playing a key role in their maiden Champions League triumph, setting up two of their five goals in the record-breaking win over Inter.

The Frenchman scored 33 goals and provided 13 assists for PSG in 2024-25. Among all players from Europe's top five leagues, only Mohamed Salah (57), Raphinha (56), Harry Kane (49) and Kylian Mbappe (48) bettered Dembele's 46 total goal involvements.

He registered 14 of those goal involvements in the Champions League, scoring eight and assisting six. That is the second-most goal contributions by a French player in a single edition of the competition, after Karim Benzema in 2021-22 (17).

Pique shared a dressing room with Dembele during his time at Barcelona, while he was also at the club while Yamal was coming up through the academy.

But the former defender believes the 17-year-old will be the one getting his hands on the trophy.

"I had the opportunity to share a dressing room with Ousmane and Lamine Yamal. They're both incredible people," he told Sport.es.

"Ousmane was like a brother, but Lamine is special.

"I would prefer Lamine Yamal to win because he's at Barcelona and also involved in the King's League [a seven-a-side tournament founded by Pique]. He has a team, so I would like him to win.

"But I also really like Ousmane, and if he wins, I'll be happy for him."

Pique also heaped praise on his former coach, Luis Enrique, who became only the second manager to win a treble with a European club on two different occasions, after Pep Guardiola.

Luis Enrique led PSG to the biggest Champions League final victory in the history of the competition, and Pique was delighted to see his success.

"I know him very well," he added. "He's fantastic. You've only recently started getting to know him, but he’s a true leader.

"And he always shows it. Since Mbappe left, they've become a team, playing some of the best football in the world."