Lamine Yamal, 19, Says His Ballon d’Or Will Come Without Naming Kane

• Lamine Yamal, 19, wrote on social media on Tuesday that his Ballon d’Or “will come” and congratulated “the winners” without naming Harry Kane, per Daily Mail.
• Yamal’s uncle Abdul told Cadena SER that anyone who loves football should go to see Lamine rather than Kane.
• France Football editor in chief Vincent Garcia said the gap between Kane and Kylian Mbappe was smaller than the 41-point gap between Rodri and Vinicius in 2024.

Yamal Answers After a Day of Questions About Kane’s Win

Lamine Yamal has sent his reply to the Ballon d’Or result, and Harry Kane’s name is not in it. The Barcelona forward posted on Tuesday evening: “IT WILL COME, good things take time, I trust the path I’m building”. He wrote that he is in no hurry and that someday his time will come. He signed off with: “Congratulations to the winners, my focus is again on what’s important, to make FC Barcelona win again.” Yamal finished third in the voting behind Kane and Mbappe. His post follows remarks from his uncle and from a Real Madrid legend.

What Happened in London

Kane took the award on Monday night at the London Palladium and ended a 25-year wait for an English winner, with Michael Owen the last in 2001. Mbappe finished second and Yamal third.

Yamal still left with the Young Talent of the Year award for a third consecutive year. Co-host Thierry Henry asked him whether that was the award he really wanted. Yamal said he believed the honour belonged to his Barcelona and Spain teammate Pau Cubarsi.

The ceremony moved to London as a one-off tribute to the award’s first winner, Sir Stanley Matthews.

The Uncle, the Panel and the Organiser

Yamal’s uncle Abdul spoke to Cadena SER in the immediate aftermath of the announcement. He called his nephew the best player in the world, then added: “Everyone knows it. If you love football, you go to see Lamine, not Harry Kane.” He predicted a long run of prizes ahead: “He’ll win five Ballon d’Or awards.”

Real Madrid legend Guti took a different line on the Spanish panel show El Chiringuito, claiming the venue and the winner were linked. “It just so happens that, for the 70th anniversary, they move the ceremony to London and someone from London wins it,” he said. He then started a sentence that trailed off, and another panellist suggested the word “orchestrated”. Guti answered: “Completely. Absolutely.”

He pointed to Kane’s expression when the winner was announced as support for his theory: “You only have to look at his face.” That is Guti’s reading of the moment and his claim alone.

Garcia, the editor in chief of France Football, which stages the event, described how tight the voting was. “The points gap between Kane and Mbappe was smaller than the gap between Rodri and Vinicius in 2024, which was 41 points,” he said. He added that Mbappe led the race for a long time before Kane came back into contention, and that in the end it was decided by “a very, very small number of points”.

Where Kane and Yamal Stand

Kane, 33, scored 73 goals across the 2025-26 season for Bayern Munich and England. He spearheaded Bayern’s domestic Treble and captained England to third place at the World Cup.

Yamal won LaLiga and helped Spain win the World Cup. An injury at the end of the league season limited his impact at the tournament, though he played in every game.

What Comes Next

Yamal has put his focus back on Barcelona and has named no winner. Kane returned to training in Munich on Tuesday ahead of Bayern’s DFB-Pokal tie with Magdeburg on Wednesday. Abdul and Guti have made their claims, Garcia has given the organiser’s account of the vote, and Yamal’s own answer is that his time will come.

WRITTEN BY

George Howson

George Howson is a Futbol Chronicle contributor and accredited journalist with over 20 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, George has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing deep knowledge and first-hand insight to every match report and analysis he writes.

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