Ballon d’Or disappointment will fuel Lamine Yamal, says Barcelona boss

Lamine Yamal will use his disappointment at missing out on the Ballon d’Or as fuel to motivate him further, the Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has said.

The 18-year-old Spain international, who was in the frame to become the youngest player to win the award since its inception in 1956, lost out to Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembélé in the race to be proclaimed the world’s best player in Paris on Monday night.

Controversy and the Ballon d’Or are familiar bedfellows, and Yamal’s father Mounir Nasraoui led a vocal contingent who felt the Barcelona attacker deserved to finish first after scoring 18 goals as the Catalan club won a domestic treble consisting of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa de España.

According to Flick, however, the teenager took the loss in good part, and remains determined to propel Barcelona to still greater heights. 

‘Lamine Yamal has accepted the Ballon d’Or decision willingly’

“I spoke with him and he’s motivated for the coming years,” said Flick. “Dembélé deserved it also, it’s a vote and a lot of things can happen. Lamine has accepted the decision willingly. He’s motivated to demonstrate his full potential. 

“Maybe he will be a candidate for the Ballon d’Or next season, but I appreciate having so many candidates from our team. It shows how [good] your last season was.”

The German will nonetheless have to do without Yamal for the moment, with the attacker set to miss a fourth successive game when Barcelona travel to Real Oviedo on Thursday night as he continues his recovery from a groin injury.

When will Lamine Yamal return from injury?

Flick stopped short of putting a timeframe on Yamal’s return, but confirmed that the Spaniard has returned to training. In the meantime, the manager remains focused on those who are fit.

“When will [Yamal] be back? Soon,” said Flick. “He trained well yesterday and today. Things are looking good.

“Lamine will decide whether or not he should rest. Not just him, but also Pedri or in the case of other players we have to manage. I never think about the players we are missing, I focus on the ones I have, on which players are options for the starting XI.

“I’m happy with my team. It makes no difference, every starting XI can win matches.”

Yamal is widely expected to return for next month’s Champions League showdown with PSG.