Joan Laporta backs Lamine Yamal to win the Ballon d’Or after Barcelona setback
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has made clear that he believes Lamine Yamal can win the Ballon d’Or, despite the teenager missing out on football’s most prestigious individual award. Speaking after travelling to London, Laporta praised the young forward’s achievements, urged him to treat the result as motivation and reaffirmed his confidence in Barcelona’s ambitions following defeat to Real Madrid.
His comments offer a message of support to a player whose rapid rise has made him one of the most closely watched talents in world football. They also reflect Barcelona’s effort to keep perspective: an individual award disappointment and a high-profile Clasico loss may sting, but neither, Laporta insists, changes the club’s goals for the season.
Laporta’s prediction: Yamal will win football’s top individual prize
“I am convinced that he will win the Ballon d’Or. I don’t know when, but he deserved it,” Laporta said, according to Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo. The Barcelona president acknowledged that the voting had produced a different outcome, but argued that Yamal’s performances were worthy of recognition at the highest level.
Rather than presenting the result as a reason for frustration, Laporta encouraged the teenager to accept it in a sporting spirit and use it as fuel. He expects Yamal’s teammates to help him move on quickly, while the club will continue to give him the support and encouragement he needs to develop.
That backing matters because awards can bring pressure as well as praise, particularly for a player who is still so young. Laporta’s message was not simply that Yamal should keep chasing the Ballon d’Or; it was that his progress should be judged across a career, not by one vote. The president’s prediction is confident, but his emphasis on patience suggests Barcelona understands that sustained performance will matter more than any single ceremony.
A remarkable run of recognition
Although Yamal missed out on the men’s Ballon d’Or, he was named the world’s best young player for the third consecutive year. Laporta described that achievement as exceptional, noting that Yamal began collecting this level of recognition at just 16.
Winning the same young-player honour three times in a row is a powerful sign of how consistently Yamal has stood out among his peers. It also highlights the unusual speed of his rise. At an age when many players are still working toward regular first-team opportunities, he has already become a central figure in Barcelona’s attack and a major talking point in debates about the future of football.
Still, individual honours are only one measure of a player’s impact. Yamal’s value to Barcelona is also reflected in the attention he draws from opposing defences, the responsibility he carries in important matches and the expectations that now surround his performances. The challenge will be to keep improving while managing the demands that come with fame, competition and a packed football calendar.
Barcelona’s Clasico defeat does not change the season’s objectives
Laporta also addressed Barcelona’s defeat to Real Madrid, calling for the result to be accepted with sporting respect. He did not attempt to dismiss the disappointment, but stressed that one setback should not erase the progress made earlier in the campaign or alter the club’s ambitions.
“The defeat must be accepted in a sporting spirit, and it should be a motivation for us to move forward, for our ambitions this season have not changed,” he said. Laporta added that Barcelona had made a strong start to the season and expressed confidence that the team could continue along the same path.
The president’s approach points to a familiar challenge for elite clubs: responding to a major loss without allowing it to become a wider crisis. A Clasico defeat can intensify scrutiny of tactics, selection and individual performances, but the next response on the pitch is often more important than the result itself. For Barcelona, the immediate task is to identify what went wrong, make corrections and carry those lessons into upcoming fixtures.
Laporta stands by Hansi Flick and the players
Laporta also offered firm support to head coach Hansi Flick, saying the manager had already examined the mistakes behind the defeat. He described the loss as an opportunity to identify areas for improvement and insisted that he remained proud of both the players and the coach.
That public backing can help provide stability after a high-profile result, especially when attention quickly turns to the manager’s decisions. It does not mean Barcelona will ignore shortcomings. Instead, Laporta’s comments suggest the club expects honest analysis alongside confidence in the group’s ability to respond.
For Flick, the coming matches will provide a chance to show how effectively the team can turn that review into action. Barcelona’s ability to regain its rhythm will depend on more than motivation alone: organisation, defensive discipline and sharper execution in key moments will all be important. Those areas are likely to shape discussion among supporters and feature prominently in any football prediction about the club’s next run of results.
A message of belief for Barcelona supporters
Laporta’s remarks came amid a broader period of celebration for Barcelona, with the club’s women’s team also recording notable successes. That contrast offered a reminder that the club’s identity and achievements extend beyond one men’s-team result, even as the Clasico remains a defining fixture for supporters.
For fans, the president’s comments provide reassurance without promising an easy recovery. Barcelona must still prove on the pitch that it can learn from the defeat and maintain its ambitions across the season. Yamal, meanwhile, faces the unusual task of balancing the excitement around his potential with the steady work required to reach the very top.
Laporta’s central message is straightforward: Yamal has time to pursue the Ballon d’Or, and Barcelona has time to respond to its setback. The teenager’s third straight young-player award underlines how far he has already come, while the club’s backing gives him room to keep developing. Whether the president’s prediction comes true will depend on years of performance, consistency and growth—but Barcelona clearly believes its young star has the talent to make that future possible.
