Barcelona striker Rafinha has emerged as the leading contender for the 2026 Ballon d'Or. The Brazilian appreciates that his teammate Lamin Yamal may be rejected from the city.

Behind the words of Rafinha, the 19-year-old Spaniard speaks about his statistical indicators, team titles and his contribution to the Barcelona and Spanish national teams.

" He has amazing statistics, having won two trophies with Barcelona and the World Championship with the Spanish national team. He is one of the key football players of both Barcelona and the Spanish national team, so for me there are many doubts here.

I respect that at the time of the awarding of the Golden Ball, individual statistics, team trophies are important, as well as the magic, charisma and infusion a football player brings to the group. Lamin has all the goodness.

Vin demonstrates miraculous statistics not only during the last season, but also in the past. The first season also started off very well. Although he wasn’t my teammate, I still called him the main contender, the ones he showed on the field, his statistics and the titles he won. For me, I can’t get away from the city.

What is there in the thoughts of others, you can re-examine the interests of others, but for me everything is obvious - the Golden Ball may be taken away by the Lamin,” Rafinha is quoted as saying by La Gazzetta dello Sport.

It seems that earlier, especially Yamal met the criteria for awarding the Golden Ball.