CORNERFLICK
Lamine Yamal has said the Ballon d’Or should not be decided by goals or team trophies alone, arguing that the award has moved away from its original idea in recent years.
Yamal questions current criteria
In a long interview on Movistar Plus’ Universo Valdano, the 19-year-old Barcelona forward said the standards used to judge the Ballon d’Or now look different from the era of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He argued that team success and scoring numbers now carry too much weight in the debate.
Yamal pointed to the Champions League as an example, saying the competition rewards a team’s work rather than automatically identifying the best player in the world. He made the same point about goals, saying a player who scores heavily should be recognised with the Golden Boot or top-scorer awards instead.
Best player should stand out on the pitch
For Yamal, the Ballon d’Or should go to the footballer who stands out most when a match is being watched, with quality that looks different from everyone else on the pitch. He said the award should reflect the best player overall, not simply the player with the biggest numbers or the most trophies.
His comments come with Yamal and Kylian Mbappé among the leading names in this year’s Ballon d’Or conversation. The Barcelona winger has already placed both himself and the Real Madrid striker among the best players in the world and said he had strong confidence in what he produced last season.