Yamal, Fabian Ruiz And Pedri Should Be Nominated For Ballon D'Or In 2025, According To De La Fuente

Add as a preferred source on Google

Luis de la Fuente, Spain's head coach, believes Lamine Yamal, Fabian Ruiz, and Pedri should be considered for the 2025 Ballon d'Or. As Euro 2024 champions, Spain is set to face France in the Nations League semi-finals in Stuttgart on Thursday. The winner will advance to Sunday's final. Ousmane Dembele, a player expected to win the world's best title, will be their opponent.

Dembele had an impressive season with Paris Saint-Germain, scoring 33 goals and assisting 13 times as they secured the Champions League, Ligue 1, and Coupe de France treble under Luis Enrique. Despite this, De la Fuente also highlighted Fabian Ruiz from PSG as deserving of recognition. He mentioned Barcelona's Yamal and Pedri as potential contenders during a pre-match press conference.

De la Fuente expressed his support for any Spanish player with a chance of winning the award. "If you put his name on the table, I will say I vote for Lamine," he stated. "But it's the same with Fabian or any Spanish player." He emphasized that if titles are a criterion for nomination, Lamine, Pedri, or Fabian have achieved enough to be considered.

Lamine Yamal had an outstanding season with Barcelona in 2024-25. He scored 18 goals and provided 21 assists as they won LaLiga, Copa del Rey, and Supercopa de Espana. His contributions helped Spain secure a record-breaking fourth European Championship last year. De la Fuente is keen on nurturing his young winger's talent.

"Lamine has a career that in the future is going to be spectacular," De la Fuente remarked. He stressed the importance of focusing on small details to ensure Yamal's development. "Not only am I in love with Lamine's football," he added, "but I also predict a splendid future for him." De la Fuente believes Yamal has all it takes to be among the world's top five players.

This week's Nations League matches bring Spain back to Germany, where they triumphed at Euro 2024. Although some consider them favourites against France, Germany, and Portugal, De la Fuente dismissed this notion. "In this final four we have three world champions and one European champion," he said. "There are no favourites."

Competitive Final Four

De la Fuente anticipates challenging matches ahead: "There are three games that are three real finals." He acknowledged the difficulty of these encounters and noted that small details would determine outcomes due to the evenly matched teams.

The upcoming matches present an opportunity for Spain to showcase their talent once more on an international stage. With rising stars like Yamal leading their charge, Spain aims to continue their successful run in European football.