‘Something very strange happened here’ – Lamine Yamal’s dad denounces Ousmane Dembélé Ballon d’Or win

Ousmane Dembélé became the sixth French winner of the Ballon d’Or on Monday night. He beat Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal to the personal accolade. According to the Spaniard’s father, it is Yamal who should have won this year’s edition, not Dembélé. 

Dembélé won the award following an excellent year both individually and collectively. His 35 goals and 16 assists saw Paris Saint-Germain win their first UEFA Champions League title, whilst in that time, Les Parisiens also won Ligue 1, the Coupe de France, the Trophée des Champions, and the UEFA Super Cup, whilst also getting to the final of the FIFA Club World Cup, before losing to Chelsea.

Yamal’s father, Mounir Nasraoui, seemed to accept defeat after the ceremony, simply telling the media outside the venue in Paris that “next year, it will be ours.” 

However, speaking to El Chiringuito later in the evening, Nasraoui’s stance had hardened. “I wouldn’t say [it was a] robbery, but a moral prejudice to a human being because I think Lamine Yamal is the best player in the world, by far… by very far,” he began in an interview transcribed by RMC Sport. 

He added, “It isn’t because he is my son that he is the best player in the world; he doesn’t have a rival. It’s Lamine Yamal. Something very strange happened here.”

GFFN | Luke Entwistle