LAMINE Yamal believes he deserves this year’s Ballon d’Or after winning the Spanish title last season and this summer’s World Cup.
At just 19, he has already achieved more than most players manage in an entire career. Here we .
With Bayern Munich and England legend the odds-on favourite, has made his .
The youngster admitted: “I think I deserve it this year, because of what I’ve won.
“Who would I give it to? The best player in the world. Who are they going to give it to?
“That’s a very long discussion…”
He added: “I sincerely believe that there are two of us who are the best in the world, and this year I deserve it for what I’ve won.
“For me, Mbappe and I are the two best in the world. For me, it’s clear, and everyone who watches the matches knows it.”
Who is Ines Garcia?
is a 21-year-old fashion and lifestyle influencer from Seville.
As of October 26, she has a whopping 4.2million followers on and a further 4.8million on .
She posts about , and , with brand partnerships including Yepoda, Women’s Secret and AliExpress, and also shares snaps with her boyfriend .
Ines has also launched her own dress collection, Coco, in partnership with Closet Barcelona.
Rumours of her relationship with the and ace first emerged when they holidayed together in in April 2026.
The pair were spotted dining together before photos of them holding hands went viral.
They made things official on May 20, 2026, arriving at Barcelona’s end-of-season dinner walking hand in hand.
The couple were also spotted together at a concert in the city.
In July 2026, Ines told her followers the “real story” behind their romance, saying: “I’m finally going to tell you how I met my boyfriend.
“You’re probably expecting some perfect, crazy love story, like I saw him in a store, the way it supposedly went down… my saviour, my hero… Here’s the real story: Three, two, one… .
“I’d love to tell you some super crazy story, like I saw him at an airport, or ran into him and dropped my papers, and he helped me pick them up. Nope, nope, nope. We met on social media.”
She also addressed when they really got together, adding: “People started seeing us together when we went to Greece.
“I’ve known Lamine for a lot longer than that. Not quite three years, but a good deal more months than people realise, even now.”
Who else has Lamine Yamal dated?
Yamal’s first confirmed girlfriend was .
She was pictured with Yamal on the podium in Berlin after final on July 14, 2024.
He handed her both his winners’ medal and his best young player award for pictures.
The pair were still together at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai before going their separate ways in February 2025.
The split turned toxic online, with infidelity rumours spreading rapidly about Padilla.
She denied everything and later told a livestream audience: “If I were to speak… the world will fall apart.”
Yamal then dated Argentine singer .
The pair went public at the end of August 2025, stepping out to celebrate Nicole’s 25th birthday around a month after being spotted kissing at a nightclub.
Nicole has released four albums and earned nine Latin Grammy nominations.
But it didn’t last, with Yamal confirming the split on Spanish TV show D Corazon on November 1, 2025.
He said: “We are not together, but it has not been because of any infidelity. We have simply separated and that’s it.
Nicole confirmed the news through journalist Jordi Martin, adding: “We weren’t going to make it public, but this situation has forced us to.
“I can confirm that there was no infidelity. If I was victim of that, I would say it publicly as I have before.”
