"My time will come": Lamine Yamal breaks silence after third-place Ballon d'Or finish

Yamal finished third behind Kane and Mbappé; the Barcelona winger says his time will come if he maintains his level.

Lamine Yamal finished third in the 2026 Ballon d'Or voting, behind Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane and Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé. The 19-year-old Barcelona winger responded on Instagram, saying his moment will arrive. "It will happen. Good things take time, I have confidence in the path I'm building. Without rushing, with hope, and with the calm that one day, my time will come," Yamal wrote. He also won the award for best young player for the third consecutive year.

Yamal, who won the World Cup with Spain last summer, had previously stated he believed he deserved the award this year and considered himself among the world's best players alongside Mbappé.