Yamal singles out Mbappe as his only Ballon d'Or rival, dismissing Kane's frontrunner status

Lamine Yamal has named Kylian Mbappe as his sole rival for the Ballon d’Or, insisting his La Liga title with Barcelona and World Cup victory with Spain make him the deserving winner ahead of the ceremony in London on 26 October.

“I honestly believe there are two of us who are the best in the world, and this year I’d deserve it because of what I’ve won,” Yamal said in an interview clip released by Movistar on Sunday. “As far as I’m concerned, Mbappe and I are the two best in the world. It’s clear to me and everyone who watches the matches knows it.”

The comments arrive in direct response to Mbappe, who stated last week that no player was better than him last season — a bold claim given that the Real Madrid forward finished the campaign without a major trophy, despite topping the scoring charts in the World Cup, La Liga, and the Champions League.

Yamal, who was voted La Liga’s standout player in 2025-26 as Barcelona retained the title, went on to play a pivotal role in Spain’s World Cup triumph across North America. The teenager was runner-up at last year’s Ballon d’Or behind PSG’s Ousmane Dembele, who also features on this year’s 30-player shortlist alongside both Yamal and Mbappe.

Notably absent from Yamal’s two-man shortlist is Harry Kane, widely considered the favourite by many observers after a staggering 73-goal season for club and country. Kane won the Bundesliga and German Cup with Bayern Munich, though Bayern were eliminated in the Champions League semi-finals by Dembele’s PSG. England’s World Cup campaign also fell short, with the Three Lions beaten 2-1 by Argentina in the semi-finals before recovering to defeat France 6-4 in the third-place play-off.

“Of course, now it is out of my hands, it is down to the voters and the people who decide it,” Kane said last week. “The season I had was my best season by far and we’ll have to wait and see.”

With Yamal, Mbappe, Dembele, and Kane all shortlisted, the vote looks set to be one of the most contested in recent memory when the award is presented in London on 26 October.