La Liga president Javier Tebas has claimed that Barcelona star Lamine Yamal missed out on winning the 2025 Ballon d’Or to Ousmane Dembele due to his age.
Yamal finished second to the Frenchman at Monday’s
awards but did pick up the Kopa Trophy – handed to the best Under-21 player – for the second year running.
Barcelona’s wonderkid only turned 18 in July and Tebas thinks that’s the reason he did not win the Golden Ball for the first time in his career.
“If he had been older than 23, he would have won it, too, I’m sure, but since he was younger, they gave him the other one [Kopa trophy],” he said, via ESPN.
Yamal would have been the youngest player to win the Ballon d’Or if he had claimed the prize. However, he still has plenty of time to hit that landmark.
Ronaldo Nazario remains the youngest winner of the prestigious award after being crowned the best player in the world at the age of 21 years and 3 months in 1997.
