Ballon d'Or controversy kicks off as Lamine Yamal's dad issues 'very strange' statement

Lamine Yamal's father has slammed Ballon d'Or chiefs for snubbing his son and handing the prestigious prize to Ousmane Dembele. The PSG forward won the award for the first time after helping the French giants to win the Champions League last season. Yamal finished in second place, having enjoyed a stellar campaign with Barcelona.

Yamal's father, Mounir Nasraoui, seemed to accept defeat after the ceremony by telling media outside the venue that 'next year it will be ours'. However, in a separate interview with Spanish outlet El Chiringuito, he appeared to suggest that an injustice had been carried out. He claimed that 'something strange' must have happened for Yamal not to win the Ballon d'Or last night.

"I wouldn't say [it was a] robbery, but a moral prejudice to a human being because I think Lamine Yamal is the best player in the world by far, by very far," said Nasraoui.

"It isn't because he is my son that he is the best player in the world; he doesn't have a rival. It's Lamine Yamal. Something very strange happened here."

Meanwhile, it has been revealed by France Football editor-in-chief Vincent Garcia that Dembele won the Ballon d'Or by a considerable margin, with nobody else coming close to securing top spot.

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"There wasn't really a contest, Ousmane won it quite comfortably," he said, before adding that voting on all continents was heavily in favour of the Frenchman. The full voting breakdown will be published by France Football this weekend.

Dembele broke down in tears as he accepted the Ballon d'Or on stage, using his victory speech to thank his family and team-mates for supporting his career.

Addressing the crowd, he said: "What I have just experienced is exceptional, I have no words for it, what happened with PSG. I feel a bit of stress. It's not easy to win this trophy and to have it presented to me by Ronaldinho, a legend of football, is exceptional.

"I want to thank PSG who came to get me in 2023. It's an incredible family. The president Nasser [Al-Khelaifi] is like a father to me. I also want to thank all the staff and the coach, who have been exceptional with me, and all of my team-mates.

"We have practically won everything together. You supported me in the good and the difficult times. This individual trophy is one the team has won collectively."

After the ceremony had ended, Dembele told Reuters: "I didn't want to cry, but as soon as I started talking about my family, about the people who have been there for me, it came up and I couldn't hold it back."