There are six weeks to go until the 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony, during which the latest award winner will be revealed by France Football. There are a number of candidates in with a realistic chance, with one of being Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal.
Having narrowly missed out on the 2025 award to Ousmane Dembele, [Lamine Yamal is fancying his chances in 2026](https://barcanewsnetwork.com/lamine-yamal-sends-old-ballon-dor-message-to-mbappe-i-deserve-it/). He racked up 24 goals and 18 assists for the Barcelona during the 2025-26 season, helping them to win La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup in the process, while also playing a part in Spain’s 2026 World Cup success.
A number of Barcelona personnel have publicly backed Lamine Yamal to win the Ballon d’Or, with the latest being vice-president Rafa Yuste. As per [Sport](https://www.sport.es/es/noticias/barca/rafa-yuste-lamine-balon-oro-134237227), he told the media on Sunday that the teenager would be the only deserved winner of the award.
**“Lamine Yamal is a young boy who is giving a lot of hope to young people around the world. He has a genius that at his age is incredible, it has been many years since I have seen a player like him. Therefore, I believe and wish that justice will be done with this well-deserved Ballon d’Or. Simply, for giving so much happiness to so many boys and girls around the world and to us who like football. Justice has to be done, and he deserves everything and more for being the way he is and for making so many people happy.”**
Lamine Yamal’s case for the 2026 Ballon d’Or is definitely stronger it was for the 2025 award, but there are others also in with a very good shout, such as Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane. Of the three, the Barcelona man played a bigger part in team successes, and that usually has a big say in the eventual winner – both he and the Catalan club will hope it is the case here too.