Barcelona have been running Lamine Yamal into the ...
Key takeaways
- This isn't news to anyone, given that Yamal finished second in Ballon d'Or voting just last year.
- This was wrong because, uh, [frantically waves arms in a way that signifies the entire multi-millennium sweep of humanity's transgressions against one another].
- Just as a general rule of thumb: If you're an attacker, and someone else who plays the same position as you more than doubles your amount of goals+assists, then you're not the best player in the world.
Why this matters: a sports story that could shift standings, legacies, or fan conversations.
This isn't news to anyone, given that Yamal finished second in Ballon d'Or voting just last year. And as his father told us, his son not winning the award was "the biggest moral damage done to a human being."
This was wrong because, uh, [frantically waves arms in a way that signifies the entire multi-millennium sweep of humanity's transgressions against one another]. But it was also wrong because Yamal just wasn't the best player in the world last year. He registered fewer goals+assists than the likes of Ollie Watkins, Yoane Wissa, and Tim Kleindienst. Mohamed Salah put up 47 goals+assists; Yamal had 22.
Just as a general rule of thumb: If you're an attacker, and someone else who plays the same position as you more than doubles your amount of goals+assists, then you're not the best player in the world.