Unai Simón: "It's an honour to be here"

Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Unai Simón is favourite for the Yashin Trophy at tonight's Ballon d'Or ceremony in London.

Unai Simón is the favourite to win the Yashin Trophy at the Ballon d'Or Gala beginning at 9pm in London. The Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper spoke to Movistar ahead of the ceremony, saying: "It's an honour for me to be here. When you're young you don't think you can get this far. You go through stages and see yourself there. Like the World Cup title, I'll value it much more over time, but today I'm proud to be nominated."

Simón is joined in the Yashin Trophy nomination by two fellow Spain goalkeepers from the World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada: David Raya and Joan García. "Luis will be super happy to have all three goalkeepers nominated. I'm pleased that Spanish goalkeeping is well covered," Simón added. He praised each of his rivals: "David's strength is his ball-handling with his feet, which gives the team a lot of possession. Joan is up there with the best in history between the sticks. I'm a calm, serene goalkeeper and try to be that way in many moments."