A prominent French pundit believes Lamine Yamal is running a calculated media campaign to reshape the Ballon d’Or race in his own favour, and that the Barcelona teenager already grasps something most of his rivals do not: the vote is won on the pitch and in the conversation around it.
Walid Acherchour, a regular voice on RMC’s After Foot, made the argument this week after Yamal told Movistar Plus that only he and Kylian Mbappé belonged at the top of the game right now.
“Lamine Yamal has understood everything. He wants to make the Ballon d’Or debate about him and Kylian Mbappe,” Acherchour posted on X.
“He wants to take the PSG players and Harry Kane out of the debate. He knows that Ousmane Dembele and Harry Kane are dangers to him.”
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“It’s very good communication from Lamine Yamal because he’s thinking: ‘If it’s me against Mbappé, I’m going to win the Ballon d’Or.’ That’s my opinion. I’m convinced of it,” Acherchour said.
The line Yamal drew on Movistar Plus
The comments Acherchour was reacting to came in an interview shared by the Spanish broadcaster on September 14.
“For me, Mbappe and I, we’re the two best players in the world,” the 19-year-old said.
“I honestly believe there are two of us who are the best in the world, and this year I’d deserve it because of what I’ve won.”
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Yamal helped Barcelona retain La Liga before going to the World Cup with Spain, who won the trophy this summer. That is the résumé he wants voters to weigh against a Mbappé season in which Real Madrid finished without a major trophy, even as the Frenchman topped the scoring charts in La Liga and the Champions League.
Kane and Dembélé, the two names Acherchour will not let go
The two names Acherchour insists cannot be waved away are Kane and Dembélé.
Harry Kane finished the 2025-26 Bundesliga campaign on 36 league goals and 58 across all competitions for Bayern Munich, becoming the first player in Bundesliga history to win the top-scorer award in each of his first three seasons at the club. He also collected a second European Golden Shoe.
Ousmane Dembélé is the reigning holder. He won the 2025 Ballon d’Or on the back of Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League triumph, with Yamal as runner-up.
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The vote closes in London
The 2026 award marks the prize’s 70th edition and will be presented on October 26 at the London Palladium, the first time the ceremony has left Paris. A jury of 100 journalists drawn from the FIFA top-100 ranked nations decides the men’s winner.
The 30-name shortlist was published on September 8. Yamal, Mbappé, Kane and Dembélé are all on it.
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