De la Fuente backs Lamine Yamal after Ballon d'Or miss: 'He will win it many times in the future'

Spain national team head coach Luis de la Fuente said he believes Lamine Yamal, who lost out to Harry Kane for the 2026 Ballon d'Or, will win the prestigious award many times in the future.

The young star, who played a major part in Barcelona retaining their LaLiga title and Spain winning the World Cup during the voting period, finished third in the vote. Harry Kane won the award, with Kylian Mbappe second.

Yamal was directly involved in 41 goals across all competitions in the 2025-26 season (24 goals, 17 assists), with only five players in Europe's top five leagues ahead of him. The young talent also topped the charts for dribbling, completing 225 of 429 attempted dribbles, and ranked among the leaders after creating 118 goalscoring chances.

De la Fuente, who had stressed in comments before the ceremony that the Ballon d'Or should go to a Spanish player, said missing out on the award would not affect Yamal negatively.

"Lamine Yamal will win many Ballons d'Or and individual awards in the future. But more importantly, he will lift many team trophies; I know he values that more," De la Fuente said. "He needs to stay calm, because we know who he is and what he represents. We are aware of the potential he has and of what a wonderful footballer and person he is."

Barcelona president Joan Laporta also shared a message of support for Yamal, who took home the Kopa Trophy, awarded to the best player under the age of 21, for the third year in a row:

"What Lamine has achieved is unprecedented. He has been named young player of the year for the third consecutive time. We are proud of him and he deserves the very best. We will all help him become even more motivated so that he can win the main award next year. Now is the time to show him the love he deserves. We will all stand behind him so that he wins this award next year."