Photo Credit: Josep LAGO / AFP – Barcelona’s Spanish forward Lamine Yamal during the UEFA Champions League match between FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on October 1, 2025.
Lamine Yamal Reacts Playfully to Dembele’s Ballon d’Or Snub
Barcelona star Lamine Yamal has given a light-hearted response after being left out of Ousmane Dembele’s top three picks for the Ballon d’Or.

Reacting to the omission, Yamal joked that the Paris Saint-Germain forward’s choice might have been influenced by his close friendship with Kylian Mbappe.
“He’s Kylian Mbappé’s friend, right?” Yamal said with a smile, as quoted in a post by Fabrizio Romano on X on Wednesday.
Despite the joke, the Spanish winger stressed that he has no issues with Dembele and understands his decision.

Yamal said he is proud of his own season and believes his performances against PSG spoke for themselves.

“I’m very happy with the season I had. I think every time we faced each other, I probably did something that made them dislike me! And that’s normal,” he said.

“My relationship with Ousmane is very good, and I understand that he wants to choose other players. But I’m very happy with what I delivered this year, and I’m confident that everyone watched it, even if he didn’t,” he added.

The 18-year-old has started the LaLiga season in fine form, scoring four goals in four games — two against Rayo Vallecano and two against Valencia.
Source: Punch Newspapers