Ballon d’Or 2026: Lamine Yamal’s dad slams Spain over Mbappé

Mounir Nasraoui, father of Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal, has criticised Spain’s Ballon d’Or voting process, suggesting that Real Madrid’s influence played a role in his son’s failure to finish higher in the 2026 rankings.

Yamal finished third in the voting with 881 points, behind Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane, who claimed the award with 1,055 points, and Real Madrid forward, Kylian Mbappé, who secured 1,027 points.

Kane emerged the winner after an outstanding season in which he scored 73 goals in 65 appearances for Bayern Munich and England. His triumph made him the first Englishman to win the prestigious award since Michael Owen in 2001.

The ceremony took place at the London Palladium on October 26, with Yamal missing out on the top prize for the second consecutive year. The Spanish international had finished second behind Ousmane Dembélé in the previous edition.

Reacting to the outcome, Nasraoui suggested that Mbappé benefited from playing for Real Madrid, claiming that some Spanish voters favoured the French forward because of his club affiliation.

Speaking on journalist Jota Jordi’s YouTube channel, Yamal’s father expressed his desire to confront those who voted for Mbappé.

“I wish one day to see on screen one of those who voted for Mbappé, and I would like to speak with him, and you too, my friend, one of Mbappé’s fans,” Nasraoui said.

He further questioned the influence of club loyalty on individual awards, insisting that the Ballon d’Or should recognise the best player rather than reward a particular team.

“This thing only happens here in Spain. If the best player in the world plays for Real Madrid, then vote for the national team! I’m not saying it’s an award for a player and not for a team. We are in the twenty-first century, man!” he added.

Meanwhile, Yamal adopted a more measured approach in responding to his third-place finish, suggesting that he remains confident of eventually winning football’s most prestigious individual award.

A day after the ceremony, the Barcelona forward took to Instagram to reflect on the outcome after collecting his third consecutive Kopa Trophy, which recognises the best young player in the world.

During the ceremony, Yamal also expressed the opinion that the award should have gone to his Barcelona teammate Pau Cubarsí.

In his Instagram message, the 19-year-old congratulated the winners, adding that good things take time and expressing confidence that his opportunity to claim the Ballon d’Or would eventually come.

He also made it clear that his attention had shifted back to football, with his immediate priority being to help Barcelona return to winning ways.