Lamine Yamal’s uncle has criticised the decision to award Harry Kane the Ballon d’Or, claiming that football fans pay to see his nephew and not the Bayern Munich and England striker.

Kane became the first Englishman since Michael Owen in 2001 to win the Ballon d’Or at the ceremony held at the Palladium Theatre in London on Monday evening.

Real Madrid and France striker Kylian Mbappe finished second, while Barcelona and Spain winger Yamal ended up in third but also won the won the Young Talent of the Year award for the third consecutive year.

The winner of the Ballon d’Or was kept a secret until Kane’s name was announced on stage by Brazil legend Ronaldo, and when the England captain left his seat to collect his award, Yamal looked visibly upset.

Yamal, who won La Liga with Barcelona earlier this year before winning the World Cup with Spain in the summer, is widely expected to win the Ballon d’Or at some point in his career.

But in an interview with El Larguero after Kane was crowned the Ballon d’Or winner, Yamal’s uncle, Abdul Abdellaoui, claimed this should have been the year his nephew won the award for the first time.

‘Well, the truth is it’s really sad, I feel really bad,’ said Abdul, who runs a restaurant in the city of Mataro in Catalonia, Spain.

‘My nephew was amazing, he was the best player in the world, everyone knows it. If you like football, you go to see Lamine, not Harry Kane.

‘Harry Kane is a great goalscorer but Lamine is the best player who shines on the pitch and if he’s unlucky, there’s next year.’

Ballon d'Or 2026 top 10

1st: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich and England)

2nd: Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid and France)

3rd: Lamine Yamal (Barcelona and Spain)

4th: Rodri (Barcelona and Spain)

5th: Lionel Messi (Inter Miami and Argentina)

6th: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Paris Saint-Germain and Georgia)

7th: Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain and France)

8th: Erling Haaland (Manchester City and Norway)

9th: Michael Olise (Bayern Munich and France)

10th: Fabian Ruiz (Paris Saint-Germain and Spain)

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When asked why he felt Yamal did not win the award this year, Abdul replied: ‘Since Lamine is young, they always say he has time, he’s 19, and that’s why they’re not giving him the award. Harry, with only three days of football left, they’re saying, ‘come on, we’ll give him the award’.

‘He’s won the World Cup, La Liga, the Super Cup, he plays really well, he’s had an incredible season, he scores goals that nobody else can. Passes, assists, whatever you want.

‘Lamine will win more than one, but the sadness will pass in three days. In a few days he will be fine.’