Former Barcelona midfielder has backed Lamine Yamal to claim the ultimate individual prize in world football
Yamal has shown that he is currently one of the best players in the world, and if Barcelona had lifted the Champions League trophy in Munich there is no question that the 17-year-old would have received the Ballon d’Or award, former Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic has said.
“We’re talking about a 17-year-old youngster,” said Rakitic. “This tells us that it’s not a matter of age. You are either there or you are not.
“If he’d reached the Champions League final, we wouldn’t have had any doubts that he would win the award this year.”
Yamal’s explosive rise has been much discussed over the past year, as he helped Hansi Flick’s Barcelona win a domestic double and make it to the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2019. Barcelona’s team sheet will almost certainly have only one name on their right flank for the foreseeable future. But beyond that, the player is thrilling the world consistently with a level of flair and intelligence reminiscent of Lionel Messi’s own early years at the top.
It has sparked conversations of winning the greatest individual award in football, and Rakitic said: “It’s an individual award but titles also count. But even without the Champions League final, especially how he’s playing in the final months, I think he’s a possible winner out of two or three candidates. For me personally, he’s the favourite.”
Asked whether Yamal would have made it into the Barcelona team he played in, the squad under Luis Enrique that won the treble and ruled the world with a frontline of Messi, Neymar and Suarez, called MSN, Rakitic said: “We had an incredible group, especially in 2014, 2015, 2016, those were our best years.
“The fact is it’s very difficult to bring somebody into that team, not just from Barcelona but from everywhere. But good players are always welcome, they can always help.
“If you play with Leo [Messi], there’s no room for anybody. But we would’ve found a way of fitting Lamine in. Everyone would have, that’s very obvious. He’s an incredible player.”
