- Home >
- Soccer >
- Primera División >
- Lamine Yamal Wants to Avoid Following Vinícius Jr.'s Path: “It'll Go Bad If I Think I Need to Win the Ballon d'Or”
Lamine Yamal Wants to Avoid Following Vinícius Jr.'s Path: “It'll Go Bad If I Think I Need to Win the Ballon d'Or”
At just 17 years old, Lamine Yamal spoke candidly about the pressure of winning the Ballon d'Or, making it clear that his focus is on playing well and enjoying his time at Barcelona.
“If I Focus on the Trophy, It Might Go Bad”
Amid growing expectations, Lamine Yamal made it clear that he’s not obsessing over the Ballon d'Or. In an interview for El Partidazo on COPE radio, the young Barcelona star shared a mature perspective on the risks of putting too much pressure on himself.
“I’ll keep to myself who I think is the best player of the year. I don’t think about the trophy or whether I’ll win it. It’ll go bad if I start thinking I need to win the Ballon d'Or. I focus on playing, on winning, and if it’s meant to happen, it will. If next year I win the Champions League and the World Cup, then maybe it will come. The key is to enjoy it and let things happen naturally,” he said.
Criticism of Ballon d'Or Criteria and Praise for Barça
Yamal also questioned the tendency to reward players based solely on team achievements rather than individual performance: “The award is for the best player of the year. I want us to win on Thursday, but win or lose, I’d vote for the best of the year. Because if something happens to me or to Dembélé that day, who do you vote for then? Someone who plays the final on Sunday? I vote based on the full year.”
Loyal to Barcelona, the young star ruled out ever joining their biggest rival: “It’s impossible for me to play for Real Madrid.” He also called for more optimism from Barça fans: “We’re improving, but we need to believe in ourselves. When Madrid lost to Arsenal, people still believed they could come back. But when we drew against Inter, fans started doubting. That needs to change.”
His Picks for the Season’s Best
After Barcelona were eliminated in the Champions League semifinals by Inter Milan, and the Italian side went on to lose the final to PSG, Yamal shared his top performers of the season. He named Luis Enrique as the best coach, Gianluigi Donnarumma as the top goalkeeper, Willian Pacho as the standout defender, and his teammates Pedri and Vitinha as the best midfielder and forward, respectively.
With clarity, confidence, and loyalty, Lamine Yamal is proving that his path to the top is built on performance and perspective—not pressure.