Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal has revealed the two players he would happily hand the Ballon d’Or to if he doesn’t win it himself — Lionel Messi and Neymar.

The 18-year-old forward, who is already being tipped as one of the frontrunners for the 2025 Ballon d’Or, praised Messi as the greatest footballer of all time while insisting Neymar deserved to have won the award at least once in his career.

“Neymar and Messi. I would give one [Ballon d’Or] to ‘Ney’, I think he deserves it,” Yamal told RTVE in an interview, as quoted by Barca Universal.

“The ‘Ney’ who was playing for Barca or Paris at the time would definitely win it now. I would’ve liked him to have won one. And obviously, Messi because he is the best ever.”

Yamal is among the leading contenders for this year’s Ballon d’Or alongside stars like Ousmane Dembele, Raphinha, Kylian Mbappe, and Mohamed Salah.

With his rapid rise at Barcelona and impressive performances for Spain, the teenager has quickly established himself as one of the brightest prospects in world football — and perhaps a future Ballon d’Or winner in his own right.