AfriPulse
LaLiga president Javier Tebas has claimed that Barcelona teenager Lamine Yamal missed out on winning this year’s Ballon d’Or because of his age.
Lamine Yamal, 18, who dazzled throughout the 2024/25 season, finished second behind Paris Saint-Germain star Ousmane Dembélé. Yamal did not leave empty-handed though, as he picked up the Kopa Trophy for best young player, repeating last year’s success.
“If he had been older than 23, he would have won it, too, I’m sure, but since he was younger, they gave him the other one [Kopa trophy],” Tebas told reporters. He added that he has no doubt Yamal will eventually lift the game’s most prestigious individual prize.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta, however, was more pragmatic, admitting Dembélé’s victory was tied to PSG’s historic Champions League run.
The Frenchman scored 35 goals and provided 16 assists last season, leading PSG to a clean sweep of domestic trophies as well as their first Champions League crown. They also added the UEFA Super Cup and reached the FIFA Club World Cup final, where they lost to Chelsea.
While Yamal himself congratulated Dembélé, his father, Mounir Nasraoui, was far less diplomatic. Speaking to El Chiringuito, he said: “I wouldn’t say [it was a] robbery, but a moral prejudice to a human being because I think Lamine Yamal is the best player in the world, by far… by very far. It isn’t because he is my son that he is the best player in the world; he doesn’t have a rival. It’s Lamine Yamal. Something very strange happened here.”
French outlet L’Équipe reported that Nasraoui even mocked Dembélé’s level of play during the ceremony in Paris, suggesting his son’s talent is already unmatched.
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