Yamal backed for Ballon d´Or glory by Lewandowski

Lamine Yamal has been tipped to one day win the Ballon d’Or by his Barcelona team-mate Robert Lewandowski.

Yamal enjoyed a breakout year in 2024, starring as Spain won a record-breaking fourth European Championship crown in Germany and assuming a central role for his club.

At the age of 16, Yamal became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the Euros when he struck against France at the semi-final stage, then the winger assisted Nico Williams’ opener in the final one day after turning 17.

At club level, Yamal scored 12 goals and provided 16 assists across all competitions in 2024, with only Lewandowski (46) and Raphinha (37) registering more goal involvements among his Blaugrana team-mates.

Those achievements led to Yamal finishing eighth in the voting for the Ballon d’Or, which was won by Manchester City midfielder Rodri ahead of Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior.

Asked by ESPN if Yamal could win football’s most prestigious individual prize in the future, Lewandowski said: “He could, yes, for sure.

“I’m not the kind of person who likes to speak very well of players because sometimes if I speak, I speak well of players and later on they fall.

“Sometimes it’s better to talk about maybe trying to find the worse things, but it’s difficult to talk about this with Lamine.

“I’m sure he will be like the best players in the world and that he will have a great future.”

Lewandowski has seen plenty of talented youngsters fail to deliver on their potential, but if Yamal surrounds himself with the right people, the striker expects him to remain a force for years to come.

“I’m not going to talk about his talent, because everyone knows how talented he is. It’s just about what I try to tell him for the future, not for the next two or three years, but for the next 10 or 15 years,” Lewandowski continued.

“I think right now the people around him are very important so that he doesn’t grow too fast. I don’t mean on the field, but in everything.

“Football is brutal sometimes and you have to be prepared for it. I’m sure the path he’s following is exactly the best one for him.”

Yamal scored as Barca beat Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals of the Supercopa de Espana on Wednesday, teeing up Sunday’s final clash with Madrid.

The Blaugrana now have an opportunity to win a record-extending 15th title, with Sunday’s game the 10th Supercopa final to feature the Clasico rivals.