Nigerian singer Davido has backed Lamine Yamal to win the Ballon d’Or in future after the Barcelona forward called for patience following his third-place finish at the 2026 ceremony.
The musician offered his encouragement beneath an Instagram post in which Yamal discussed the result and redirected his attention towards winning with Barcelona.
According to Legit.ng’s account of the exchange, Davido responded with the comment: “They won't have a choice soon.”
The publication reported that the response had attracted more than 7,000 likes when it covered the exchange on Wednesday, 28 October.
Yamal had published his message on Tuesday, a day after the awards ceremony. The 19-year-old congratulated the winners and expressed confidence that he could claim the individual honour later in his career.
In the post reproduced by the publication, he wrote: “IT WILL COME, good things take time, I trust the path I'm building. Without a hurry, with excitement and with tranquility that someday my time will come. Congratulations to the winners, my focus is again on what's important, to make FC Barcelona win again.”
The organisers’ official rankings confirm that Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane won the men’s award, ahead of Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé in second place and Yamal in third. The ceremony took place at the London Palladium on Monday, 26 October.
Kane became the first English footballer to receive the award since Michael Owen in 2001. UEFA’s account credited the Bayern forward with 73 goals for club and country during the 2025/26 campaign, including 14 in the Champions League. He also collected the Men’s Striker of the Year award in London.
Yamal also received an individual award at the ceremony. Barcelona’s report on his young player honour confirmed that he won the Men’s Young Talent of the Year distinction for a third consecutive year.
The prize, previously known as the Kopa Trophy, recognises footballers under 21. His victories in 2024, 2025 and 2026 made him the first player to win three successive editions.
Under France Football’s voting regulations, journalists representing the top 100 countries in FIFA’s rankings select the men’s Ballon d’Or winner. Each juror ranks ten players from a shortlist of 30, with points determining the final positions.
The rules place individual performances first among the assessment criteria, followed by team achievements and trophies, then conduct and fair play. The assessment period for the 2026 award ran from 3 August 2025 to 19 July 2026 and included international competitions.