Rob is senior football editor at GiveMeSport, with over 15 years experience covering sport in various capacities since graduating from the University of Gloucestershire in 2008 with a degree in journalism.
A childhood obsession for all things football developed into a career writing about the beautiful game, initially producing content for clients including Luton Town Football Club.
He joined GiveMeSport in 2013 (initially as a sub-editor before becoming a senior writer and then senior editor in 2020) and has covered countless football matches, interviewed various high-profile figures including Rio Ferdinand and Howard Webb and written well over 10,000 articles during that time.
Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal’s father claims “something very strange has happened” after his son was beaten to the 2025 Ballon d’Or award by Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembele.
“What I have just experienced is exceptional, I have no words for it, what happened with PSG,” an emotional Dembele, whose mother joined him on stage, said during his acceptance speech. “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.”
However, Yamal didn’t leave empty-handed as he was named winner of the Kopa Trophy – awarded to the best-performing player worldwide under the age of 21. It’s the second successive year the Spain international has sealed that particular accolade.
Lamine Yamal’s Father Reacts Badly to Result
But it’s fair to say Yamal’s family – specifically his father, Mounir Nasraoui – expected a different result with the main award. Speaking to El Chiringuito after the ceremony, Yamal’s dad was quoted by One Football as saying:
“We have to say that something very strange has happened here. I think this is the biggest… not robbery, I won’t say that, but the greatest moral harm to a human being.
“Because I believe that Lamine is the best player in the world by far, by a huge margin. Not because he’s my son, but because he’s the best player in the world. I don’t think he has rivals.”
While Mounir Nasraoui stopped short of calling the result a robbery, it’s clear he feels his son would have been a more deserving winner than Dembele. However, there’s no doubt that his supremely-talented son will be in contention for many future Ballon d’Or awards.
