LaLiga president, Javier Tebas, has claimed that Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal was denied the 2025 Ballon d’Or because of his age.
Tebas has however expressed his optimism that Yamal will soon win the award.
Ousmane Dembele of Paris Saint-Germain finished top in the Ballon d’Or voting this year, with 18-year-old Yamal as runner-up.
Yamal however went home with the Kopa Trophy for best young player, a prize he has now won back-to-back.
“If he had been older than 23, he would have won it, too, I’m sure, but since he was younger, they gave him the other one [Kopa trophy],” Tebas said.
But unlike Tebas, Barcelona President Joan Laporta had admitted that Dembele won the prize because PSG lifted the Champions League trophy.
Ballon d’Or 2025: LaLiga reveals why Yamal was denied award