Lamine Yamal: “There is no greater motivation than winning the Champions League”

Lamine Yamal says Barcelona has no greater motivation than winning the Champions League. Speaking before the team's European opener against Feyenoord at Spotify Camp Nou, the forward said the competition is always at the club's forefront.

“There is no greater motivation than winning the Champions League,” Yamal said. “The whole team is motivated. In Barcelona, we always have the Champions League in our heads because it is the most special competition.” He also pointed to the arrival of Rodri, Gordon, Adeyemi and João Cancelo as additions to a squad containing important players.

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There is no greater motivation than winning the Champions League.

Yamal, who has joined the group of Barcelona captains, played down the Ballon d'Or discussion. He said the decision belongs to journalists and that he would be grateful to his team and national side if he won. He rejected the idea of campaigning for the award, saying Barcelona had won the World Cup and another league title, while acknowledging the high level among the candidates.

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In football today, if you do not run, every team will beat you, whoever you are.

Asked about Ousmane Dembélé's failure to list him among his favorites, Yamal said Dembélé is a friend of Kylian Mbappé and that the omission did not bother him. “I am happy with the year I have had,” he said, adding that he gets along with Dembélé and believes everyone saw the season he produced.

Yamal also insisted that star players must work for the team. “In football today, if you do not run, every team will beat you, whoever you are,” he said. His personal goal is to keep growing and improving, while Barcelona aims to continue winning titles. He dismissed suggestions that he is unhappy after images showed him looking serious on the bench, saying, “I am very happy.”

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I am very happy.