According to Sport, the newspaper believes that although Mbappe campaigned on his goal-scoring statistics from last season, he should not win the Ballon d'Or because he failed to help Real Madrid and the French national team win major collective trophies and was even booed by his own fans. In contrast, Yamal won trophies with Barcelona and the Spanish national team, making him more deserving of the award.

The Ballon d'Or voting closed Monday. While the result will be final then, speculation about the winner and support for favorite players will continue. With this award appearing more open than ever, even the candidates themselves have been building their own narratives. Lamine Yamal and Mbappe have done so for weeks.

The French striker used statistics to support his candidacy, arguing he deserves the trophy as the top scorer in La Liga, the Champions League, and the World Cup last season. This is true, but he won the Pichichi Trophy and the World Cup Golden Boot for those goals.

His goals didn't win La Liga or the Champions League for Real Madrid. Nor did they help the French national team win the World Cup. Les Bleus were relegated to the third-place playoff, a match the French striker deliberately used to pad his statistics, treating it like a friendly. Mbappe scored two goals in a tennis-score affair (4-6). This allowed him to surpass Messi on the all-time scorer list, while Messi played in the World Cup's most important match that weekend – the final.

However, the problem is that Mbappe's goals last season not only failed to bring him collective trophies – which is ultimately what sport is about – but also failed to win over his own fans. In several matches, the French striker was booed by Real Madrid supporters. Fans accused him and Vinicius of lacking team spirit and blamed them for Real Madrid's disastrous season.

In short, Mbappe should not be the Ballon d'Or recipient. A player who won nothing and failed to please the fans who paid to watch him should not lift the trophy. Lamine Yamal's situation is the opposite. He himself acknowledges he didn't play at his best at the World Cup, but he played a crucial role in Spain's national team victory under Luis de la Fuente.

He scored goals and delivered brilliant performances, and as he explained in a recent interview, he contributed to his team's success by creating space for his teammates by drawing the attention of two or three defenders. Yamal also won La Liga with Barcelona. He truly made spectators stand and cheer throughout the year, not just Barcelona fans, but fans worldwide who could watch his spectacular performances every three days.

The fairest outcome would be for the young Catalan to lift his first Ballon d'Or in London on October 26, although fairness and the Ballon d'Or often don't align. If they did, you couldn't explain why Raphinha and Pedri weren't in the 30-man list.

Diterjemahkan oleh AI.

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