Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal targets multiple Ballon d’Or wins

Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal said he wants to win the Ballon d’Or multiple times, not just once, and that he will be to blame if he never gets his hands on the coveted prize.

Yamal, 18, is one of the favourites to claim the award this year alongside Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembélé, with the winner announced at a gala at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on Sept. 22.

“I told my friends I don’t dream of winning one Ballon d’Or, I dream of winning many,” he told the podcast Resonancia de Corazón this week when asked if he coveted individual glory to go with team success.

Despite his age, Yamal has already made over 100 appearances for Barça, scoring 18 goals and providing 25 assists last season as Hansi Flick’s side won LaLiga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Supercopa.

He has started this season in similar form, scoring twice and setting up two more in three LaLiga games, and says he would be at fault if Ballon d’Or glory does not eventually follow.

“I think I’m a player who has the ability to win it, and if I don’t, it’s because I haven’t done things right or because I haven’t wanted to,” Yamal said.

“So, I dream of winning the Ballon d’Or many times and when the day comes [that I win it], I’ll be very happy.”

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This year may come too soon for Yamal, with Dembélé the current favourite after helping PSG win the treble, while Vitinha, Raphinha and Mohamed Salah are also in the running.

However, with big objectives ahead of him over the next 12 months, including the Champions League with Barça and the World Cup with Spain, his name is unlikely to disappear from the conversation.

“I just want to keep winning,” he said. “I want to win with my club and with the national team.”