German football legend Lothar Matthäus has ruled out both Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal and Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappé as deserving winners of the 2026 Ballon d'Or.
Speaking to "Sky Sport", Matthäus rated Lamine Yamal and Mbappé among the finest players in the world today. Neither, though, stands out as the strongest favourite for the prize in his eyes.
The World Cup winner praised the young Barcelona winger's immense talent, calling him "exceptional".
Last season, he added, was not the real Lamine Yamal.
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The Spain international was "one of many" in his country's successful World Cup campaign, according to Matthäus, and rarely hit the level he has shown at the start of this season.
Even so, the German backs the Barcelona star to have a strong chance of the award. Titles weigh heavily in the voting, and on that front Lamine edges Mbappé.
The French striker, Matthäus noted, lifted nothing with Real Madrid or the French national team during the period covered by the Ballon d'Or.
Asked to name his own favourite, though, Matthäus turned to Bayern Munich's Harry Kane, "for the English striker has achieved astonishing statistics, winning the Golden Boot award, scoring at the World Cup, and netting decisive goals in the Champions League".
Kane also won titles with Bayern Munich and reached the semi-finals of both the Champions League and the World Cup.
So the German legend puts Lamine Yamal in a strong position in the race, ahead of Mbappé. Yet Harry Kane's collective and individual output across the season, he insists, makes the striker the main candidate as things stand.