Yamal takes a swipe at Mbappé and Dembélé: I won't beg to win the Ballon d'Or!
Heavy artillery bombardment
Lamine Yamal has come out fighting ahead of Barcelona's Champions League opener. The teenager reckons he has a real shot at the Ballon d'Or, but he won't be launching a personal campaign or begging anyone for votes.
Speaking at the press conference before Barcelona's clash with Feyenoord, Yamal ranged across plenty of subjects as the Catalans kicked off their European campaign. He started with their chances of being crowned continental champions. Then came the Ballon d'Or, the captaincy armband and his relationship with French duo Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele.
Champions League: the title Barcelona are missing
Yamal opened by turning to Barcelona's biggest ambition this season, insisting that the Champions League remaining absent from the club's trophy cabinet is a huge source of motivation for the squad.
The Barcelona star said: "There is no greater motivation than the fact that the Champions League is the title that remains for you to win, it is the competition that remains for us to win. We have great players like Rodri, Gordon and Adeyemi, and we will try to achieve it."
Yamal a captain at 19: a greater responsibility
Yamal reflected on the Barcelona captain's armband he wore recently after becoming the fifth in the club's captaincy order. Wearing it at his age fills him with pride, he said, but it also doubles his responsibilities towards his team-mates.
"It is a great honour to be a captain of Barcelona at the age of 19, and I am very grateful to my team-mates, and this makes me more responsible," he said. "Even though I am 19 years old, I will try to give my best for the team."
I will not beg for the Ballon d'Or
Asked about the Ballon d'Or, Yamal made no attempt to downplay his status as one of the frontrunners. Yet he insisted the final call rests with others, and that his output for Barcelona and Spain would ultimately decide his chances.
Yamal said: "The first thing is that it does not depend on me, but rather on you," in reference to the press. "The work we have done with the team and the national side has been wonderful, and if it happens, the first thing I will do is be grateful to my team and my national side. I believe I have big chances, but we will see."
He went further than simply acknowledging his prospects. The teenager sent a clear message about how he is handling the race, refusing to launch a personal campaign for votes. That marks him out from Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappé, who claimed he is the most deserving of the award.
The Barcelona star said: "I don't think I need that, I'm not thinking about it. I am proud of my team and my national side, we are world champions and I cannot ask for more than that. This is your job, and I will not start begging to get something."
Dembélé ignored Yamal: a sarcastic response from the Barcelona star
Dembélé had left Yamal off his list of Ballon d'Or candidates. Asked about the snub, the Barcelona teenager fired back with a sarcastic dig, pointedly recalling the bond between the French forward and Kylian Mbappé.
Yamal said: "Who left me out? Dembélé? He's Kylian's friend, isn't he? I'm very happy. In the times I played against them both, I must have bothered them for some reason, but my relationship with Ousmane is very good."
Their last meeting came in the World Cup semi-final. Spain knocked France out with a 2-0 win.
If you don't run, you'll lose
Talk turned to the defensive side of Yamal's game, specifically how he throws himself into the press once possession is lost. That is no small ask of one of Barcelona's brightest attacking talents.
Being a star, the young forward insisted, does not excuse him from the graft. Running and pressing are non-negotiable if Barcelona want to fight for silverware.
He said: "It is enough to look at the last teams that have won titles, we have seen Paris Saint-Germain. If you do not run, all the teams will beat you. For the team, if we want to win we have to run. If you do not run, you will lose."
The secret behind the anger at Elche
Yamal insists winning the Champions League is the biggest challenge facing him and Barcelona. He has also revealed the real reason behind that furious expression when he was substituted against Elche on the opening weekend of the Spanish league.
"I don't know, it depends on the day and how I feel," he explained. "Simply put, what happened in Elche was because the weather was extremely hot, I was tired, and you made forty thousand stories about it, while the only truth is that we were playing in a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius."
The happiest moment of my life
Yamal cannot escape the media spotlight right now, yet the sheer scale of the attention seems to have caught him off guard. He insists he is living through one of the happiest periods of his life, particularly after lifting the World Cup with Spain and enjoying a holiday he called the best he has ever had.
He said: "I'm very happy, and I don't know why people are talking about me this much. I've just come back from winning the World Cup, and I had the best holiday of my life. I don't know why people are talking about me so much, it's the happiest moment of my life."
Would he embrace a bigger leadership role down the line? Yamal has no fear of it. He points out that Barcelona already boast enough players capable of wearing the armband should Hansi Flick turn to him one day.
He said: "I'm not afraid to be that, we have enough players if the coach decides that one day."
