Lamine Yamal Congratulates Ballon d'Or Winners, Sidesteps Naming Harry Kane

Lamine Yamal has offered a belated congratulation to the winners of the Ballon d'Or ceremony, though the 19-year-old Barcelona forward did not specifically name England captain Harry Kane, who claimed football's highest individual honor.

Kane secured the award on Monday night, becoming the first Englishman to win since Michael Owen in 2001. He finished ahead of close rivals Kylian Mbappe and Yamal. Footage from the event showed both Mbappe and Yamal failing to stand and shake Kane's hand after his acceptance.

Yamal took to social media on Tuesday evening to acknowledge all the evening's winners, while stating his own determination to win the Ballon d'Or in the future. "IT WILL COME, good things take time, I trust the path I'm building," Yamal posted. "Without a hurry, with excitement and with tranquility that someday my time will come."

He added, "Congratulations to the winners, my focus is again on what's important, to make FC Barcelona win again." Yamal did, however, receive the Young Talent of the Year award for the third consecutive year. When asked if this was the award he truly desired, he politely deflected, suggesting the honor belonged to his Barcelona and Spain teammate Pau Cubarsi.

The public stance from Yamal marks a more conciliatory tone compared to his uncle, Abdul, who had voiced strong opinions immediately after the ceremony. "My nephew was fantastic, he was the best player in the world," Abdul stated to Cadena SER. "Everyone knows it. If you love football, you go to see Lamine, not Harry Kane... Lamine is very young, he's 19, he'll win more, but Harry only has three days of competition left and they give him the Ballon d'Or."

Abdul detailed Yamal's achievements, including a World Cup, La Liga, and Super Cup, along with his scoring ability and playmaking skills, asserting that his nephew would go on to win multiple Ballon d'Or awards.

Speculation and conspiracy theories have also emerged from other figures, including former Real Madrid player Guti. He suggested that the ceremony's relocation to London for its 70th anniversary, coupled with Kane's victory, was a "coincidence" that pointed to an "orchestrated" outcome. Guti also cited Kane's apparent surprise upon winning as evidence for his theory. The Ballon d'Or ceremony was moved to London as a one-off to honor Sir Stanley Matthews, the award's first recipient.

France Football editor-in-chief Vincent Garcia confirmed that the voting was exceptionally close between Kane and Mbappe. "The points gap between Kane and Mbappe was smaller than the gap between Rodri and Vinicius in 2024," Garcia noted, emphasizing the narrow margin of victory.

Kane's win was attributed to his remarkable 2025-26 season, where he scored 73 goals for Bayern Munich and captained England to a third-place finish at the World Cup. Following the ceremony, Kane was seen celebrating in London before returning to training with Bayern Munich for their DFB-Pokal fixture.