Lamine Yamal responds to Ousmane Dembélé leaving him out of his Ballon d’Or top-3 | OneFootball

Barcelona star Lamine Yamal has provided his response to being snubbed by reigning Ballon d’Or holder Ousmane Dembélé for a place among his frontrunners for this year’s prize.

The shortlist for the 2026 ‘Golden Ball’ was of course made public by France Football earlier today.

The aforementioned Lamine was as expected amongst the 30-man list, with the 19-year-old still holding out hope of ultimately being named world football’s standout performer for the last 12 months.

Lamine is fresh off not only a starring season en route to La Liga glory with Barcelona, but also a triumphant campaign with Spain at this summer’s World Cup.

One individual who does not have the young winger in his top three favourites to lift the Ballon d’Or next month, though, is Paris Saint-Germain standout and ex-Barca attacker Ousmane Dembélé.

Drawn on his personal shortlist for the accolade on Tuesday, the Ballon d’Or holder opted for Kylian Mbappé, Harry Kane, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

Speaking during his own exchange with the media in the hours that followed, Lamine himself was in turn questioned on Dembélé’s comments.

And the Blaugrana sensation showcased poise and wisdom beyond his years in responding:

“He’s Kylian Mbappé’s friend, right? I’m very happy with the season I had. I think every time we faced each other, I probably did something that made them dislike me! And that’s normal. My relationship with Ousmane is very good, and I understand that he wants to choose other players. But I’m very happy with what I delivered this year, and I’m confident that everyone watched it, even if he didn’t.”

Conor Laird – GSFN