“A Spaniard has to win it” – De la Fuente makes Ballon d’Or claim as Kane and Yamal battle for prize
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Bayern Munich star Harry Kane is among the leading contenders for the Ballon d’Or, with the winner set to be revealed in October.
According to Spain coach Luis de la Fuente, however, one of the players from his World Cup-winning team deserves to take the award home.
“Of course, there are great players in England and Germany. But I think a Spaniard has to win it, because our players are the best in the world in many respects, and you simply cannot overlook them. It's hard to believe that no Spaniard can win the award,” de la Fuente told Sport Bild.
FC Barcelona star Lamine Yamal is the most prominent of the Spanish nominees, but Spain have five other players on the shortlist in the shape of Rodri and Pau Cubarsí (both Barcelona), Marc Cucurella (Real Madrid), as well as Fabián Ruiz and Ferran Torres (both Paris Saint-Germain).
Even if Yamal doesn't win this year, de la Fuente believes the 19-year-old has every chance of claiming the Ballon d’Or in the future.
“Lamine Yamal has many advantages: he is only 19 years old. He made his debut for the national team when he was 16. At that age, he was doing things on the pitch that I had never seen before. And that is despite the fact that there have been players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo who were exceptional at a young age,” he said.
The 65-year-old added that he believes Yamal has “everything it takes” to reach the level of Messi and Ronaldo.
“But of course, it is our job to coach and develop him as well as possible so that he can get there. That goes beyond simply playing football. He also needs to be mentally strong enough to deal with setbacks,” he underlined.
