On Wednesday night, Lamine Yamal became the youngest-ever footballer to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or award.
The 17-year-old sensation was one of the top 30 players nominated for the prestigious honour, along with his new Barcelona teammate Dani Olmo.
Apart from the Ballon d’Or, Yamal was also nominated for the Kopa Trophy and is also the frontrunner to win the Golden Boy Award for 2024 as well.
All of this is an indicator of how fast his rise in the world of football has been. Now, the La Masia graduate has made it to the cover of the ‘France Football’ magazine for the September edition.
“I want to leave my mark on football,” Yamal says in an interview, which has featured as the headline of the cover of the magazine.
The magazine will go on sale next Saturday, September 7, which is when we will be able to read the entire interview that France Football conducted with Lamine Yamal, wherein they review his brilliant year with Barça and his nomination for the Ballon d’Or.
A truly special year for Lamine
Having made his debut for Barcelona late in the 2022/23 season, only aged 15, Yamal enjoyed his proper breakthrough campaign in 2023/24.
Not only did he become the first-choice right-winger for Barcelona ahead of an accomplished star like Raphinha, but the youngster also broke into the Spanish national team.
Even though Barça ended the season without any trophies, Yamal’s emergence was the biggest positive for the club.
The fact that Yamal received a standing ovation from the crowd at the Santiago Bernabeu while playing for Spain was an indicator of his quality and ability.
This past summer, the 17-year-old winger was one of the chief architects for Spain as they conquered Europe by winning the UEFA Euro 2024 and was even named the Best Young Player of the Tournament.
Now, the nominations for the Ballon d’Or and Kopa Trophy, as well as the Golden Boy Award are further proof of Yamal’s unmatched talent and given his age, the sky is the limit for the Barcelona ace.
