Yamal Was Cheated In Ballon d’Or Race, Father Alleges

Lamine Yamal’s father, Mounir Nasraou, has described his son’s Ballon d’Or snub as the biggest moral damage done to an individual.

Ousmane Dembele pipped Lamine Yamal to the prestigious award in Paris on Monday after his successful season with PSG.

The Barcelona winger came second to Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembélé in the Ballon d’Or voting.

Nasraou believes the decision to hand the award to Dembele ahead of Yamal was the biggest damage done to an individual.

He said: “I think this is the biggest, I won’t say theft, but moral damage is done to a human being because I believe Lamine Yamal is the best player in the world by far, by a huge margin.

“It’s not because he’s my son but because he’s the best player in the world. I believe there are no rivals. Lamine is Lamine Yamal. Something very strange has happened here. Next year there will be a Spanish Ballon d’Or winner.”

Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, believes the Champions League was a major factor in the race for the award winner.

He said: “I think winning the Champions League has had its weight.

“We were hopeful. We had Raphinha, Lamine and Pedri nominated. In the end, Lamine and Dembélé were finalists. I’m sure he [Yamal] will achieve it. Time will tell but he’s got great quality.

“I’m convinced this [finishing second] will only motivate Lamine more. He is a winner. He has a healthy ambition.”

However, Yamal made history by becoming the only player to win the Kopa trophy award twice.

Yamal also won the award, which recognises the best player under 21 years old, last year, shortly after helping Spain win the European Championship.

In retaining the award, the teenager has also reinforced Barcelona’s dominance of the award.

This is the seventh edition of the Kopa Trophy, and a Barcelona player has won it four times after Pedri in 2021, and Gavi in 2022.