Lamine Yamal: It was good that I didn’t win 2025 Ballon d’Or | OneFootball

Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal is gearing up for the second major international tournament of his career: the 2026 World Cup. The 18-year-old, who will be able to play some part in Spain’s opening matches against Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia despite him not yet being at 100%, spoke on huis YouTube channel to reflect on some moments in his career thus far.

One of those was his first major tournament, that being Euro 2024. As per Sport, he looked back at how he handled things in Germany, and how his mindset will be much better for this summer’s tournament in North America.

“I was a kid. I learned especially the first game because of the first nerves and you have those butterflies. You have to be calm and know that this is very long, that there are six more games ahead of you and that if you play a game badly, you have another six.”

Lamine Yamal: I have a great relationship with Ousmane Dembele

Image via Lars Baron/Getty Images

Lamine Yamal also opened up on losing the 2025 Ballon d’Or to Ousmane Dembele, whom he also said he has a great relationship with.

“The truth, if I’m honest, I thought I was going to win it that day because of many things that had happened. I think it was very good for me that Dembele won it. Beyond helping me grow personally, I don’t think it was the right time for me to win it because I was still a kid and probably wouldn’t have appreciated what it really means to win a Ballon d’Or. We’ll see if this year is mine.”

“Ousmane and I get along very well. I’ve spent time with him, we’ve talked a lot, and even the other day he asked me how I was and told me how I was. I’m very happy that he won (the Ballon d’Or). We were also together at the Dubai Awards and you can see that we have an excellent relationship. We continue to talk to each other from time to time…”