Lamine Yamal and the hassle of the Golden Ball

BarcelonaThis time, the moral lesson that “campaigns are made by them, not us” cannot be pronounced. The pestering that Barça is doing for Lamine Yamal to win the Ballon d’Or cannot be masked, especially because the Catalan genius is the first to ensure that everyone gets on board the ship. Not even the elusive Hansi Flick has been able to escape it. The German coach, an enemy of egos and elements that distort collective goals, was called to duty to change his speech at the request of the star and the club's leadership. A bit forced by the circumstances, Flick also ended up declaring him worthy of the award. It escapes no one that having a footballer crowned with the highest individual award would mean increasing revenue and improving the brand image. Hansi, we are also very eager for this unbearable noise to end.

To argue that Lamine Yamal is the best footballer on the planet is absurd. Just as it is also absurd to give such transcendence to a trophy so arbitrary that it can end up in the hands of Fabio Cannavaro (Lamine, you weren’t born yet but Ronaldinho can tell you all about it). Although it often has relative credibility, it is a type of prestige that appears in the contracts of stars in the form of a lucrative variable. And let’s not fool ourselves: enjoying the privilege of Olympus is also a dream for the number 10. It is understandable that it irritates him to see how, after having won the World Cup with Spain, there are local media apparatuses rowing in favor of Mbappé. The phenomenon also includes the only Spanish journalist with the right to vote, author of an unusual interview with the French forward. Asking Lamine to be above all this and to wait for the facts to impose themselves is perhaps too bold. He is not Leo Messi.

How many times have you heard the Argentine star make statements like those of Lamine Yamal on Universo Valdano? In the midst of an invented struggle – because he had no rival – with Cristiano Ronaldo, the Ballons d'Or rained down on him while he spoke on the pitch every three days. He did not need to verbalize anything, just go out and play. Leo is Leo and Lamine is Lamine, we are clear on that. The latter loves public exuberance and being the king of the spotlight. What is most reassuring is hearing him talk about the hunger he has to make a place for himself in the history of football. That at 19 years old he conveys that he does not want to be a shooting star is the best thing that can happen to Barça. On this point, we do appreciate that he clings to Messi's example. This is more important than all the imaginable Ballons d'Or.