Lizarazu settles it: only Lamine Yamal deserves the 2026 Ballon d'Or

Bixente Lizarazu has made his call: for the 1998 World Cup winner, Lamine Yamal is the only player who deserves to win the 2026 Ballon d’Or, with the ceremony taking place Monday in London.

“I’m going to try to respect my criteria. My criteria are collective. There was a season with two major competitions, the Champions League and the World Cup, so there will be Kvara, Lamine Yamal and Ousmane Dembélé. And then the other criterion is the criterion of thrills, of genius, and there only Lamine Yamal remains,” the pundit said Sunday.

Lizarazu acknowledges that the Barcelona prodigy’s World Cup was not “incredible,” but dismisses the objection: “He is still world champion, he won the Spanish championship. And he is a phenomenal player.” He also cites Michael Olise among players capable of giving him thrills, before ruling him out for not having played in the World Cup and Champions League.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, another big name of the season, suffers in his view from a fatal absence: Georgia was not qualified for the World Cup. “Kvara was super consistent in the Champions League, that’s for sure, but he’s missing having been at the World Cup. That’s his small weak point,” Lizarazu nuances, though he nonetheless predicts a place in the top 10.

The 70th edition of the Ballon d’Or, which will see Lamine Yamal attempt to succeed Ousmane Dembélé on the honours list, is presented as one of the most contested in the award’s history.