German legend backs Barcelona academy gem to win Ballon d’Or ‘several times over’ | OneFootball

As we close in on the September 22 event in Paris, the race for the Ballon d’Or trophy is heating up.

Barcelona duo Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, and PSG’s Ousmane Dembele have emerged as the three main candidates.

Many have already started to favour Yamal in the race, and for Germany’s football legend, Mario Gomez, it was no exception either.

Mario Gomez backs Yamal in Ballon d’Or race

In a recent interview with Just Eat, Mario Gomez has backed Yamal in the race for the Ballon d’Or.

“I’m no magician to answer this question, but I think Lamine will win it several times over,” he said (h/t Mundo Deportivo).

Gomez also tried to draw a comparison between Yamal and Lionel Messi, reminding everyone just how good the latter was at FC Barcelona.

Gomez believes Yamal will win the Ballon d’Or title many times (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

“Sometimes we forget, because he’s now playing for Inter Miami, that Messi is still playing. And we forget how incredible his start to his career at FC Barcelona was,” he said.

“I remember it perfectly, and it was probably at the same level Lamine is at now, and that’s pretty crazy at his age,” he added.

Finally, Gomez admitted that Yamal is going to dominate world football, provided he doesn’t pick up too many injuries during his career. It must be noted that Yamal has recently become the world’s most valuable player, overtaking Vinicius Jr.

“I don’t think we’ll see anything like this except for Messi, and yes, Lamine is going to dominate world football if he doesn’t get injured, which doesn’t seem likely, because he has tremendous qualities,” he concluded.

Mario Gomez is not the only footballing personality to back Yamal to win the Ballon d’Or in recent times.

Earlier, even former Real Madrid and Villarreal defender Raul Albiol waxed lyrical about the rising Barcelona sensation, backing him to win the coveted trophy.