Golden Boy or Golden Ego?

There's something about Lamine Yamal that either makes you a fan or not, it's hard to fully click with him at times, yet you also want to cheer for him. Being an FC Barcelona fan I am in his corner, but I do not connect with the way he allows his ego to take front and center many times. Currently he is implying he is the best and that he deserves the Ballon D'Or, but does he?

I personally don't agree with him, because let's review recent history, in the World Cup 2026 he was not the best from the Spanish national team, according to those behind awards it was Rodri. His record of goals and assist was pretty poor based on the expectations he was partially guilty of creating. Not only that, but in the final, he was not the most pivotal or dangerous player on the field as a whole, the Argentinean defender Nicolas Tagliafico made sure of this. His World Cup, besides the obvious new star in the Spanish kit, was poor, and actually he should be thankful for being part of a brilliant team that achieved this together, at times in spite of his performance on the field.

Now, let's explore his team, FC Barcelona, that achieved greatness on the local arena by winning the league and the Spanish super cup. He was even named the La Liga Players of the Season and top assist provider. Yet the team failed to achieve success in the Copa del Rey (Winner: Real Sociedad), and the Champions League (Winner: Paris Saint-Germain FC), the last being of utmost importance in the global stage. He was actually very important for the team many times, but he also had a brilliant Raphinha and a Lewandowski that even on his last year in the team managed to score many important goals. Plus, FC Barcelona always has talent, Pedri was doing his magic on the midfield with an amazing ensemble working along with him. Pau Cubarsi was showcasing a maturity beyond his years on Defense, eclipsing many more mature players. And Ferran had those moments of brilliance that apparently have become constant at Paris Saint-Germain FC. He was not the standout that FC Barcelona has tried to sell on social media, he is not on the same level as Ronaldinho or Messi in my opinion...and even they had great support and never spoke about individual awards.

This situation with him can be seen especially in how sure he is of his talent, which is definitely present, but waiting for everyone to pamper him and say yes to everything he says can and will be problematic. He can enter the realm of greatness, but he is still young and should learn to also listen and not only speak. You cannot demand an award, in particular when opinions of greatness are honestly subjective and if we follow statistics he was the best in very few of them, but at his age he was definitely impressive. He should let his work on the field do the talking and if he wins an award great, but if he doesn't then he should focus on the work done with the team.

I know he is Laporta's card to make the FC Barcelona fans forget about Messi, a player whose shadow looms heavy as he was different from the rest, and personally Lamine is nowhere near there yet, but he can if he focuses on working and playing.