Luis de la Fuente convinced Lamine Yamal deserves 2026 Ballon d'Or

Spain manager Luis de la Fuente took a stand Friday in favour of Lamine Yamal in the race for the Ballon d’Or, with the ceremony set to take place on 26 October in London.

“A Spanish footballer must win the Ballon d’Or. I always back our homegrown talent. We are the best in the world in training, performance and quality,” said the 65-year-old coach at a press conference. World Cup winner in 2026 with La Roja, De la Fuente did not name a single player initially, but quickly hinted that the FC Barcelona player was his favourite.

“Lamine Yamal can win it, because he is a huge player,” he said. “If not this year, it will be later — he won’t have to wait long to win it.” Words that sound more like a certainty than mere encouragement.

De la Fuente also took the opportunity to lament the absence of another Spanish international from the thirty nominees. “Mikel Oyarzabal is missing from the list of 30,” he said, without elaborating further.

The question of who will succeed Ousmane Dembélé on the honour roll remains open: no candidate has yet clearly emerged on the world stage, leaving the suspense intact until the London evening of 26 October.