When asked by a fan, "How did you feel when Ousmane Dembele won the 2025 Ballon d'Or instead of you?", Yamal replied, "To be honest and share with utmost sincerity, that night I thought I would be the winner at the gala. But after everything that happened at that time, I realized Dembele winning the award was very good for me."

Lamine Yamal shares in a video answering fan questions on YouTube on 7/6. Photo: YouTube/Lamine Yamal

According to the player from the La Masia academy, from a personal development perspective, Yamal believed it was not the right time for him to win the Ballon d'Or. "At that time, I was still a child, and if I had won the Ballon d'Or too early, I wouldn't have fully understood its true value. Moreover, Dembele and I have a very good relationship; I am very close with him," he stated.

"We used to hang out, walk, and talk together regularly. Sometimes, during heart-to-heart conversations, Dembele would ask about my situation and encourage me, as that was a period when my form and mentality were not at their best. His advice truly helped me recover, helping me mature significantly. I learned many valuable lessons from that time and changed many things in my life for the better. I am very happy Dembele won the Ballon d'Or, and we will see if it's my turn this year," Yamal emphasized, concluding his answer with a witty remark.

In this video, the Barca talent also explained why he often wears a bandage on his right hand. The answer is related to former Real Madrid star Karim Benzema.

"Once, while playing a video game on PlayStation, I was so frustrated that I accidentally punched the TV, causing my fingers to swell," Yamal first explained the reason. "From then on, I had to wear a medical bandage to play. But later, I realized that wearing the bandage looked quite cool. I remember we used to tease each other, saying I looked like 'KB9', meaning Benzema with his familiar bandaged hand. So I decided to keep this habit, and it suits me well."

The former France national team striker had to wear a medical hand bandage from 2019 due to mandatory circumstances. After a match with Real Betis while playing for Real, Benzema sustained an injury but chose conservative treatment instead of surgery.

Yamal celebrates after scoring in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 match between Barca and Benfica at the Olympic Stadium, Barcelona, Spain on 11/3/2025. Photo: AP

Besides Dembele and Benzema, Yamal also mentioned quite a few other contemporary stars. Specifically, when asked which player he believed was underrated and should receive more attention, he invited his mother to participate in the answer. Sheila Ebana chose Mikel Merino of Arsenal, who is also a teammate of her son on the Spain national team.

Meanwhile, Yamal listed several names before finally settling on Fabian Ruiz of PSG – also another member of "La Roja" at the 2026 World Cup. "For example, Gerard Martin or Ferran Torres at Barca. In the past, there was Thomas Muller. Or Ruiz of PSG currently, he is truly excellent but rarely praised adequately," the 18-year-old enumerated.

When asked about Cole Palmer, who was not called up to the England national team for this summer's World Cup, Yamal argued that the Chelsea star does not belong to this group: "Palmer cannot be considered underrated. He wears the number 10 shirt for Chelsea and was once in the top 9 for the Ballon d'Or, if I remember correctly. How can such a star be called underrated? So the answer must be Ruiz."

Yamal also took this opportunity to reaffirm his special admiration for his biggest idol, Neymar, whom he says always brings endless inspiration whenever he watches the Brazil national team star play. "Neymar is my number one idol. But there are also other names that bring excitement when they step onto the field, such as Jeremy Doku and Ryan Cherki of Man City," he shared.

Regarding the question of why he decided to switch from sponsor Nike to Adidas, Yamal explained, "I simply saw a big opportunity. At Adidas, they placed their full trust in me, offering a strategic position and a significant development vision for me, something Nike couldn't provide at the time. Frankly speaking, Nike already had too many big names like Kylian Mbappe or Vinicius at that point, while I was just a 15-year-old kid. Adidas gave me an open space to grow with the brand, and I could become the face of their new generation. They believed in me, and I believed in myself; to this day, it remains a very wise decision."

When Yamal first emerged, a video about him went viral on social media. In it, Yamal made up the name Ryan when some tourists asked if he was a famous footballer. "That day, my friends and I were eating at a restaurant in Barcelona," Yamal recounted. "A group of French tourists asked me to take a picture for them. After I took the photo, they realized and asked: 'Oh, aren't you that famous football player?'. I immediately joked: 'No, my name is Ryan'. It's a name I really like; even when playing the Parchis (a Spanish board game similar to Ludo) app, they ask you to enter a character name, and I always put Ryan."

Finally, Yamal concluded his confessional video with a pledge: if the Spain national team wins the 2026 World Cup, he will completely change his appearance. "I promise that if we lift the golden trophy, I will grow and keep a full beard and mustache for three consecutive weeks," Yamal declared.

Hoang Thong compiled