Barcelona star Lamine Yamal will be driven to greater heights after being beaten to the Ballon d’Or by Ousmane Dembele, the club’s coach Hansi Flick said Wednesday.
At the glittering gala in Paris on Monday, the 18-year-old winger finished second to Paris Saint-Germain attacker Dembele in the race to be crowned the world's best player. However, he won the Kopa Trophy for best young player. “I spoke with him yesterday, and I think he sees it (in the) right (way), so it’s for him also motivation for the next years,” Flick told a news conference.
“Dembele, he deserved it also, it’s a vote and a lot of things can happen and I think he accepted this in a good way, and he’s motivated to show it this season.
“Maybe next season he also will be an option for the Ballon d’Or, but I really appreciate that a lot of players from our team are in this situation, and it’s great for our team. It shows a lot how your last season was, and this is also our goal for this season.”
Yamal starred as Barcelona won a domestic treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.
As the champions attempt to keep up with La Liga leaders Real Madrid, who defeated Levante on Tuesday to move five points ahead of Barca, the winger is expected to miss Thursday's match at Real Oviedo due to a groin injury. Last season the Catalans struggled in games without the teenager but they thrashed Valencia and Getafe without him in their previous two games.
Flick stated, "I'm really happy, I never think about which player we are missing, I only focus on our team." “Which players are the options for being in the starting XI… I’m happy with my team. It makes no difference, every starting XI can win matches. It is not a significant issue."