Ghanaian Ballon d’Or juror Michael Oti Adjei has defended ranking Lamine Yamal third, saying the Barcelona forward was not yet at the level of Kylian Mbappe or Harry Kane during the season being assessed.
Oti Adjei said his voting was based primarily on individual performances rather than the number of trophies won by each player. In an appearance on Sports Daily on TV3, he said he viewed the award as a contest between Mbappe and Kane.
“At no point did I consider Lamine Yamal as the best player in the world in the season under consideration. It was very clear in my mind that between Kane and Mbappe, Yamal was not in that class yet,” he said.
The juror pointed to Barcelona’s performance in the Champions League and Yamal’s contribution to Spain’s World Cup triumph as factors in his assessment. However, he argued that the teenager was not the decisive figure in Spain’s success.
“Spain won the World Cup all right, but even Yamal himself would admit that he was not the most decisive factor in that,” Oti Adjei added.
He also dismissed the idea that winning the biggest team trophies should automatically make a player the leading candidate for an individual award. Oti Adjei used Fabian Ruiz as an example, noting that the midfielder won the World Cup, Champions League and French Ligue 1 during the season in question.
“If that was the case, then Fabian Ruiz would have been the best player in the world. I didn’t even put him in the top 10 because Fabian Ruiz was a good team member of three very functional teams. It doesn’t make him the most outstanding player in the world,” he explained.
Despite putting Yamal behind Mbappe and Kane, Oti Adjei praised the Barcelona teenager’s influence and his ability to decide matches. He said Yamal’s performances were strong enough to justify his place among the top three.
“I still consider him a really, really top talent. That’s why he was in the top three. He has significant impact on games.
“He was the best player in La Liga as well. Barcelona won the Premier League. He comes up with the goods when required,” he said.
Oti Adjei maintained that Yamal’s exceptional ability did not make him the strongest candidate ahead of Mbappe and Kane for the season under consideration.
His final Ballon d’Or ranking placed Kylian Mbappe first, Harry Kane second and Lamine Yamal third.
