Within hours of Harry Kane collecting the award at the London Palladium on Monday evening, Union Berlin’s social media team was waiting. The Bundesliga side posted a child-with-popcorn image and pointed its followers back to a note the club had put out six weeks earlier, after a hiding at the hands of Bayern Munich.

That September post, published after Bayern had thrashed Union 7-0 on 18 September, had taken a direct swipe at Lamine Yamal.

“Couldn’t that 19-year-old rascal from Barcelona have just kept his mouth shut? Kane and Olise are really on fire today and proving that they are Ballon d’Or material.”

Kane scored twice that afternoon. Michael Olise added three.

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Union Berlin’s jab had a target. Earlier in September, Yamal had told Movistar Plus that “the Ballon d’Or should go to the best player in the world, full stop,” a line the German club read as a swipe at Kane’s goals.

Uncle Abdul: “Something is going on”

Yamal’s uncle, Abdul Abdellawi, was not laughing. In an appearance on Spanish television carried by El Desmarque, he said the result made no sense.

“Something is going on there, I don’t know. There are players who have done nothing this season. Lamine is still the best player in the world.”

His anger focused on Kane’s age. Abdul said voters had told themselves Yamal was young and would get another chance.

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“Harry Kane, he has three days of football left,” he said. In his telling, the voters had effectively decided to hand Kane the prize before his career ran out.

Third place, but the Kopa Trophy

Yamal finished third at the 70th edition of the award, behind Kane and Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé.

He did not leave the Palladium empty-handed. Yamal collected the Kopa Trophy, given to the world’s best under-21 footballer, for the third year in a row.

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