LAMINE YAMAL’S dad has slammed the decision to snub his son for the Ballon d’Or.
The 18-year-old was heavily backed to collect the prestigious award after a superb season that saw him score 18 goals and assist another 16.
His form inspired Barcelona to win the LaLiga title and Copa del Rey, cementing his reputation as one of the world’s best players.
But he was beaten by PSG star Ousmane Dembele after the Frenchman won a treble of trophies, including the Champions League.
Yamal had to settle for second place, which angered the player’s father Mounir Nasraoui.
He claimed his son had suffered “moral damage” and insisted the decision was “strange”.
Nasraoui told Spanish TV station El Chiringuito: “He is the greatest. I’m not going to say theft, but rather moral damage to a human being. Lamine Yamal is the best player in the world by far.”
He denied claims of bias towards his son and stressed that the youngster would be victorious at next year’s awards.
He added: “It’s not just because he’s my son, but because he’s the best player in the world.
“Lamine is Lamine… we have to say that something strange has happened here.
Men’s Ballon d’Or results in full
Here is the full ranking for the men’s Ballon d’Or award
30th – Michael Olise
29th – Florian Wirtz
28th – Virgil Van Dijk
27th – Declan Rice
26th – Erling Haaland
25th – Denzel Dumfries
24th – Fabian Ruiz
23rd – Jude Bellingham
22nd – Alexis Mac Allister
21st – Serhou Guirassy
20th – Lautaro Martinez
19th – Joao Neves
18th – Scott McTominay
17th – Robert Lewandowski
16th – Vinicius Jr
15th – Viktor Gyokeres
14th – Desire Doue
13th – Harry Kane
12th – Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
11th – Pedri
10th – Nuno Mendes
9th – Gianluigi Donnarumma
8th – Cole Palmer
7th – Kylian Mbappe
6th – Achraf Hakimi
5th – Raphinha
4th – Mohamed Salah
3rd – Vitinha
2nd – Lamine Yamal
1st – Ousmane Dembele
“Next year it’s ours. Next year the Ballon d’Or will be Spanish.”
It’s the second straight year there has been controversy at the Ballon d’Or ceremony.
Last year, Real Madrid and Brazilian football fans were incensed that Vinicius Jr was snubbed in favour of Manchester City star Rodri.
Yamal did not leave the ceremony empty handed, despite the disappointment of missing out on the main prize.
For the second year in a row, Yamal claimed the Kopa Trophy, awarded to the world’s best player under the age of 21.
Speaking after being presented with the award, he said: “It’s an honor to be here again.
“I want to thank Barcelona and the national team. Also, my family. I don’t want to forget my teammates, like Cubarsi and Raphinha, who we can also see here.”
When asked if he was ready to win “the big one”, he replied: “I don’t know if I’m ready for the big trophy! Maybe we’ll see each other later.”
It’s already been an excellent start to the season for Yamal, who has two goals and two assists from his first four La Liga games.
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