"The two strongest are us – me and Mbappe. This year – me." Yamal said the "Ballon d'Or" should be given to him

"The two strongest are us – me and Mbappe. This year – me." Yamal said the Ballon d'Or should be given to him

Lamine Yamal says that this time the Ballon d'Or should be awarded to him — he believes he deserves it based on his achievements with Barcelona and the Spain national team.

Kylian Mbappe is also not lagging behind in the media race and is making sensational statements as well.

"I would give it to the best in the world. I deserve it."

The 19-year-old winger spoke with former footballer Jorge Valdano for the "Valdano's World" program.

– Who would you give the Ballon d'Or to?

– This is a topic of long discussion. I would give [the award] to the best player in the world. I believe this: the two best players in the world are Mbappe and me. Based on what I have achieved, I deserve the award more this year.

– Is it that clear?

– For me – yes, clear. I think this is understandable for anyone who watches football.

After his thoughts on the Ballon d'Or, the Spanish footballer also reflected on the victorious World Cup and his place in football history: "From the perspective of my own game, even after the victory, I was not satisfied with the World Cup. The injury incident has nothing to do with it, because I know: if the World Cup were to be held again, I would have played at the same level and still would not have been satisfied with myself.

I did a lot of things that people don't notice – for example, I drew three opponents to myself at once, and such a player is a real find for any coach. But still, I am not satisfied with myself. Someone else might think they had a great World Cup with such performances. But not me. I could have done even more. So... I helped the team, but I am already looking forward to the next tournament.

Before this, there were great stars: Leo, Cristiano, Diego – although I didn't cross paths with the latter. But no one has won so many trophies at this age. Pele? Yes, indeed, but that was a long time ago. People might relax at some point after winning so many trophies. But I know that I still have thousands of things to do to enter football history forever."