Former Man City star insists Lamine Yamal should have won Ballon d’Or: ‘What are basing this on?’

Former Man City star insists Lamine Yamal should have won Ballon d’Or: ‘What are basing this on?’ The 2026 Ballon d’Or panned out in the worst possible manner for Barcelona, who only had Lamine Yamal’s Kopa Trophy to cheer for in terms of individual awards in men’s category. Other than that, Yamal finished third behind Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane, who eventually won the Ballon d’Or after an extraordinary season with Bayern Munich. Many believe Yamal was robbed for not being given the Ballon d’Or and one of them is none other than former Manchester City star Samir Nasri. Nasri’s assessment of Ballon d’Or Speaking on a French podcast, Nasri made no secret of his displeasure at the outcome, insisting the award belonged to Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal. “ I absolutely disagree with Harry Kane winning it,” he said (h/t Diario SPORT ). Yamal finished third in Ballon d’Or 2026. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images) “He’s not even the best player in the Bundesliga, that’s Olise; nor was he England’s best player at the World Cup. The winner should have been Lamine Yamal.” The former midfielder went on to question the very criteria behind Kane’s triumph, downplaying the England captain’s goalscoring exploits in Germany. “What are we basing this on? Just on the goals scored? He wins a league in which he practically plays alone,” he added. To underline his point, Nasri reached for a pointed comparison, even at the expense of French football. “It’s like if Ferran Torres scores 50 goals with PSG, wins Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and is given the Ballon d’Or,” he said. Nasri believes Yamal is integral to Barcelona and should have won the Ballon d’Or. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images) Why Nasri rates Yamal so highly At the heart of his argument was the sheer importance of Yamal to Barcelona, something Nasri felt set the teenager apart from his rivals. “Yamal is the engine of Barça, he’s his club, his team!” he said. To reinforce that view, the former City man drew a contrast with Mbappe’s time in Paris, suggesting the Frenchman never held the same status at his club. “When he was at PSG, it was Neymar’s team! Regardless of the titles, it was still Neymar’s team! ” he concluded.