More lavish self-praise again! Lamine Yamal steps up his Ballon d'Or campaign once more

"To be honest, I don't think it's only since this year that I've been at the level to win the Ballon d'Or, it's been the case for longer than that," Yamal told the English newspaper, before adding: "Everyone knows that and everyone knows that I'm a player who makes the difference. I think some people think: Lamine is 19, he will win the Ballon d'Or one day, so we'd rather give it to someone else."

Asked how he plans to get the better of the competition, the winger added: "I simply have to win, win and win again, and there will come a moment when there is no longer any debate. There will be people who love it, and others who say: He's such a show-off. And that's normal."

In recent weeks, Yamal and Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid) in particular have repeatedly pushed their own cases with questionable self-glorification. Former Ballon d'Or chief Pascal Ferre believes that is a mistake, telling the French newspaper Le Parisien recently: "When I say that you can lose the Ballon d'Or at the level of communication, I mean that a player is in the spotlight in an unpleasant way and gives voters the impression that they are being pushed towards a decision. This kind of commotion, which some people stage, can eventually irritate the voters. Because at that point the manipulation becomes pretty obvious."

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Ballon d'Or: Which players are among the favourites?

Ferre did not name Yamal or Mbappe, but warned about the risks of forced self-promotion: "The voters are not naive. They have both the experience and the judgement needed to assess and evaluate a player without having to hear ten or fifteen times that he is the best."

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Alongside the two attacking stars and Bayern's top scorer Harry Kane, several other leading names are also fancied. They include reigning holder Ousmane Dembele of Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain, as well as the Spanish midfield orchestrator Rodri, who has moved from Manchester City to Barcelona after his defining performances at the World Cup.

Monday, 26 October is the date set for the 70th Ballon d'Or ceremony, and this year's event comes with a notable change. To mark the anniversary, the prestigious gala will be staged in London rather than Paris for the first time. The organisers announced the venue at the end of May.