Daily Mail lashes out mercilessly at Lamine Yamal after Harry Kane's Ballon d'Or win

The Daily Mail has led British media criticism of Lamine Yamal, lashing out at the Spanish forward after Harry Kane won the Ballon d'Or on Monday evening.

Across England, Kane's victory has prompted pride. Every newspaper has described his win over runners-up Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal as 'well-deserved'.

"Kane is the thoroughly deserving winner. It is a reward for a year in which he won the European Golden Shoe, played a key role in Bayern Munich's Bundesliga title triumph, reached the World Cup semi-finals as England captain and, above all, emerged as a remarkably modest superstar," writes The Guardian.

The Times focuses on the obstacles Kane has faced. "Six miles from Brisbane Road, where he scored his first professional goal in the third tier of English football, and eight miles from Arsenal's Hale End academy, where he was released at the age of eight because he was supposedly 'too fat', Kane finally fulfilled his dream."

By contrast, Daily Mail focuses on Yamal. In his self-promotion campaign ahead of the vote, the Spanish superstar said the award was mainly between him and Kylian Mbappé. He did not take the English striker into account.

"On Monday evening, we saw that football is capable of bestowing its highest honour on men like Kane: men who did not seek the spotlight, did not provoke controversy, did not misuse their fame and who, unlike Yamal, did not hire people with dwarfism to liven up their 18th birthday party, but instead devoted themselves entirely to a career of quiet excellence."