Lamine Yamal also made a splash for Ballon d’Or with another impactful performance in Barcelona’s Champions League match against Feyenoord on Wednesday at the iconic Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia Stadium (Spotify Camp Nou).
The 21-year-old winger, who has spent the past three months in Barcelona, contributed to the opening of the European season with his free-kick goal and two assists for Barcelona. His latest play led head coach Hansi Flick to make a strong case for the individual award in football being given to Yamal.
“He has always the potential to create something special, he deserves the Ballon d’Or,” Flick said.
Yamal made the shortlist of 30 for this year’s Ballon d’Or, which will be named at a ceremony in London on October 26. After playing for Feyenoord, his game took a further step towards solidifying his credentials in the middle of the voting process. It was Yamal’s 12th Champions League goal, with him just one away from Kylian Mbappe’s record 13 for under-18s.
His two assists were big assists also. It was the 101st goal contribution of Yamal’s Barcelona career, which includes 54 goals and 47 assists. There is also reason for concern by Flick over the absence of Barcelona teammates Raphinha and Pedri from the Ballon d’or short list. The German coach said that both of the players “should have been on the list of nominees as they had done plenty to deserve it.
Raphinha then put on another good spell of work for Feyenoord with a pair of goals to extend his season scoring lead to eight. Also, he was the first Barcelona player to reach the four goals in the first five games since 1950.
Barcelona’s Champions League debut brings another interesting chapter to his Ballon d’Or story, as Yamal has been combining goals, creativity and consistency at an incredible age.
