Lamine Yamal went viral because of a conversation that FC Barcelona itself discovered after the Ballon d'Or gala. The young footballer, chatting privately with Aitana Bonmatí, was interested in one of the curiosities of the trophy, asking her if her name was on it, or if it didn't appear.
Hours later, questioned about this conversation, the two-time Ballon d'Or winner, Aitana Bonmatí, made public more details of her conversation with Lamine Yamal. What Barça didn't share is that the 17-year-old player had the opportunity to pick up the trophy, but he preferred not to.
Speaking about it, Aitana Bonmatí said: "He asked me if the Ballon d'Or had my name on it and I told him that I thought it did and I asked him if he wanted to touch it..."
In this sense, Lamine Yamal's response was surprising, clearly thinking ahead: "He said to me: 'No, no, I mean, no, I don't want to jinx it.'"
Lamine Yamal, future Ballon d'Or winner
Everyone is clear about it: at 17, Lamine Yamal has already shown signs of being a different player, one of those who win Ballon d'Ors. He is like Aitana Bonmatí or Alexia Putellas, differentiating. He is destined to win the Ballon d'Or in the coming years and he didn't want to jinx this possibility in Paris, touching the one that his teammate had just won.
What Lamine Yamal has already won is the Kopa Trophy, which defines him as the best young footballer on the planet. He is also the youngest to receive the trophy, at 17 years and 109 days. In his calm speech, as he is, as he demonstrated at Bernabéu, he remembered all those who have helped him get to this point.
"It's an honor to receive this award and I wanted to thank my mother, my father and my grandmother, who have always helped me. I wanted to remember the coaches, the national team, Barcelona , Luis, Xavi and long live Barça and the 304," Lamine Yamal said publicly.
He added: "Many thanks to all my teammates and for more. I hope I can win the Ballon d'Or as soon as possible. The most important thing is to have fun, because when you have fun everything turns out better." And about Barça he said that they are going for everything: "La Liga, the Champions League and everything that is possible. We will go for more."
Aitana Bonmatí offered her the chance, but Lamine Yamal is clear: the first Ballon d'Or she will touch will be hers.