Hansi Flick backs Barcelona's Lamine Yamal for Ballon d'Or glory

Hansi Flick backs Barcelona's Lamine Yamal for Ballon d'Or glory

Hansi Flick has backed Lamine Yamal to win the 2026 Ballon d'Or after Barcelona produced another impressive attacking display in their 5-1 Champions League victory over Feyenoord at Camp Nou on Wednesday.

Raphinha led the way with two goals, while Karim Adeyemi, Yamal and Gabriel Jesus were also on target for Barcelona. Feyenoord's only goal came from Sem Steijn.

The result continued Barcelona's strong start to the season and gave Flick another opportunity to praise Yamal, who he believes has done enough to deserve football's biggest individual prize.

"He's my player, of course I believe that," Flick told reporters. "He deserves to win the Ballon d'Or. He's an exceptional, special player. Anyone who watches his matches knows he deserves it."

Raphinha was also central to the victory, scoring twice and continuing his excellent form.

Flick was particularly impressed by the Brazilian's intensity and his ability to attack from deep.

"With Raphinha, his intensity is great," Flick said. "When he attacks from deep and picks up that pass from Pedri, he's great."

The Barcelona boss also highlighted the different qualities of Dani Olmo and Yamal, with Olmo providing greater control while Yamal created another dangerous moment from a free-kick.

Barcelona have started the campaign strongly, and Flick believes the quality of the team's training sessions has been an important factor.

"The training sessions have been of very high quality," he said. "The one we had after the Valencia game was the best of the year."

Despite the five-goal victory, Flick insists his players still have areas to improve.

"I like what I see, but I also see situations we need to improve," he added. "The most important thing, as I say, is training. Because that's where you improve."

Barcelona now turn their attention back to La Liga, with a trip to face Levante at the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia on Sunday.

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