"I’d be happy if it went to him or to Lamine Yamal" - Luis de la Fuente names Barcelona star and 29-year-old player as favorites for Ballon d'Or

Spain national team boss Luis de la Fuente has backed Barcelona teenager Lamine Yamal for the Ballon d'Or. He wants a Spaniard to win the France Football award this year and named PSG star Fabian Ruiz as his other pick.

Yamal and Ruiz are among the 30 nominees this year and are among the top names touted to win, having had a stellar season with their respective clubs. The teenager played a key role in Barcelona's La Liga triumph, while the midfielder helped PSG win the Ligue 1, Coupe de France, and the UEFA Champions League. Speaking to the media, De La Fuente said (via Barca Buzz):

“I would give the Ballon d’Or to a Spaniard, and I’d be happy if it went to Fabián or to Lamine Yamal.”

Yamal also spoke about the France Football award on Jose Ramon de la Morena‘s podcast Resonancia de Corazon. He claimed that his dream is not to win the award once, but multiple times, and said (via GOAL):

"I don’t dream of winning one Ballon d’Or, but I dream of winning many of them. I believe I am a player capable of achieving that, and if I don’t achieve it, it will be because I didn’t do things the right way, not because I didn’t want to. So, I dream of having many of them, and when the day comes that I get there, I will be very happy, but I will keep winning more and winning with my team and everything."

Apart from Fabian Ruiz and Yamal, Pedri is the only other Spaniard to be nominated for the Ballon d'Or this year.

Barcelona star Lamine Yamal backed to win Ballon d'Or by France icon

France icon Jean-Pierre Papin spoke to EremNews in August and backed Lamine Yamal to win the Ballon d'Or this year. He claimed that the Barcelona teenager was better than all PSG players and said (via Football Espana):

“Lamine Yamal deserves to win the Ballon d’Or this year. No (to Dembele or Hakimi), for me Yamal was the best and had an exceptional season.”

France defender Jules Kounde also named Yamal as his pick for the award this year and said (via TNT Sports):

"You're putting me in a difficult position. But I'm going to be modest in saying that [Yamal] deserves it, yes, he does. It's also true that there are other players who have had a good season."

Lamine Yamal scored 18 goals and assisted 25 times in his 55 games for Barcelona.