Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal has responded to Ousmane Dembélé leaving him out of his top three picks for the Ballon d’Or, jokingly suggesting that the Paris Saint-Germain forward may have been influenced by his friendship with Kylian Mbappé.

In a post by football transfer expert Fabrizio Romano on X on Wednesday, Yamal was quoted as saying,“He’s Kylian Mbappé’s friend, right?” Yamal said with a smile.

The Spanish winger, however, made it clear that he holds no grudge against Dembélé and understands why the Frenchman chose other players.

“I’m very happy with the season I had. I think every time we faced each other, I probably did something that made them dislike me! And that’s normal,” Yamal said.

“My relationship with Ousmane is very good, and I understand that he wants to choose other players.”

Yamal also remained confident in his own performances, insisting that his contribution throughout the season was there for everyone to see.

“But I’m very happy with what I delivered this year, and I’m confident that everyone watched it, even if he didn’t,” he added.

The comments add a playful twist to the Ballon d’Or debate, with Yamal showing both confidence in his own season and respect for Dembélé despite being left out of the French star’s top three.

Yamal already has 4 goals in LaLiga after four matches.

He scored twice against Rayo Vallecano and twice against Valencia.