“I told my friends, I don’t dream about winning a Ballon d’Or, I dream about winning many,” Lamine Yamal unashamedly declared ahead of this year’s ceremony.
Barcelona’s ambitious 18-year-old prodigy will be part of the glittering crowd which assembles at the Théâtre du Châtelet this month to discover the latest Ballon d’Or winner, the prize annually handed out by France Football to the standout footballer over the past year. Alongside Yamal’s rival contenders there will be 2,000 of the best and brightest from around the game squashed into the Parisian opera house in their finest black-tie attire. Millions more will watch the drama unfold on various streaming platforms as the results are endlessly dissected and debated over the subsequent weeks, months and years.
