Lamine Yamal has declined to beg journalists to award him the Ballon d’Or, leaving his performances for Barcelona and Spain to conduct most of the campaign on his behalf.

The 19-year-old discussed his chances during Tuesday’s press conference ahead of Barcelona’s Champions League opener against Feyenoord.

“I don’t think I need to campaign to win the Ballon d’Or,” Yamal said. “I’m proud of what I’ve done with my club and the national team. I’m not going to start begging for anything.”

Yamal acknowledged that he had a realistic chance of winning after helping Spain lift the World Cup and Barcelona claim La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup.

However, he pointed out that the final decision belongs to the journalists responsible for voting and said he would be grateful to his teammates if the award arrived.

His approach differs slightly from that of Kylian Mbappé, who said one day earlier that he would vote for himself.

Mbappé defended his candidacy despite ending the club season without a major trophy, arguing that the Ballon d’Or is an individual award and that becoming the leading scorer in World Cup history should remain in voters’ minds.

Yamal was also asked about Ousmane Dembélé selecting Mbappé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Harry Kane as his preferred candidates while leaving him out.

“He’s friends with Kylian, right?” Yamal replied with a laugh, before explaining that he had no problem with Dembélé’s choices.

The Barcelona forward has therefore managed to express confidence in his own candidacy without formally asking anybody to support it.

Both players have ultimately left the decision to the same group of journalists. Yamal has declined to request their votes, while Mbappé has helpfully demonstrated how he believes one of them should be used.