'Something strange has happened here': Lamine Yamal's father blasts Ousmane Dembele Ballon d'Or triumph | OneFootball

Spanish star was beaten to top award by French forward

Lamine Yamal’s father has blasted Ousmane Dembele’s Ballon d'Or win, saying the result was “not theft but rather moral damage to a human being”.

Dembele scooped the biggest individual award in football for the first time in his career on Monday, becoming the sixth Frenchman to win the prize.

He joined the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Michel Platini, and Karim Benzema in the exclusive club.

Dembele received tributes from some of the world’s biggest names, including former team-mates Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, who both sent congratulatory messages on social media.

Yamal’s father, Mounir Nasraoui, was less pleased at the result, and made his views clear to Spanish TV outlet El Chiringuito after Dembele was crowed the best player in the world ahead of the Barcelona winger.

“Lamine Yamal is the best player in the world by far,” he said. “It’s not just because he’s my son, but because he’s the best player in the world.”

In just his second year of professional, Yamal scored 18 goals and registered 25 assists across all competitions as Barcelona won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.

The 18-year-old did pick up an award at the Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris on Monday, becoming the first player to win the Kopa Trophy twice in a row as he was named the best under-21 player in the world.

Nasroui was still unhappy and said: “Lamine is Lamine. We have to say that something strange has happened here.

“Next year it’s ours. Next year the Ballon d’Or will be Spanish.”

Yamal was more gracious in defeat and embraced Dembele after his victory was announced.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward broke down in tears when he won the award and said: ‘‘I didn’t want to cry, but as soon as I started talking about my family, about the people who have been there for me, it came up and I couldn’t hold it back”.

Dembele also thanked his team-mates, adding: “We have practically won everything together. You supported me in the good and the difficult times. This individual trophy is one the team has won collectively.”