Luis de la Fuente says Spanish players deserve the Ballon d'Or

Spain national team head coach Luis de la Fuente has emphasized that one of the Spanish players deserves this year's prestigious Ballon d'Or award. The 65-year-old expert also expressed firm confidence that Barcelona's young talent Lamine Yamal will win such an individual trophy in the future. This was reported by Goal.com. reports this.

Speaking on Thursday in Oviedo at the presentation of next month's UEFA Nations League match against the Czech Republic, Luis de la Fuente touched upon the list of nominees for this year's Ballon d'Or. He did not hide his surprise that Mikel Oyarzabal was left off the official 30-man shortlist.

For information, the Ballon d'Or award ceremony is scheduled to take place in London on October 26th of this year. The list of nominees for the award was announced earlier this week. In his speech, Luis de la Fuente highly praised the country's football potential and local talent.

The potential of Spanish football and the Mikel Oyarzabal issue

In his statement, the coach emphasized that the country's player development system is world-class. He expressed his constant support for the local football brand and criticized the decision of the selectors.

According to Goal.com, while commenting on the absence of Mikel Oyarzabal from the nominees, the expert jokingly expressed his objection: "It seems someone dropped the paper while writing these nominees and left him off the list."

Lamine Yamal's bright future

Luis de la Fuente highly praised the performances of young winger Lamine Yamal this season and said he has high hopes for his future. The coach has no doubt that the Barcelona academy product will soon be worthy of the title of the world's best player with his incredible game.

"I think Lamine Yamal can win the Ballon d'Or because he is Spanish and an incredibly good player. If not this year, he will certainly win it in the future. I don't think it will take him long to achieve this award. I am watching his performances at the start of the season and we want to enjoy him for many years to come," said the coach.

The national team coach also touched upon midfielder Marcos Llorente, who ended his international career after the World Cup. He added that he fully respects the player's decision and that a great relationship remains between them. Answering a question about the future call-up of young talents like Carlos Espi and Javi Espart to the national team, he emphasized that they will certainly be in the team in the future, but there is no need to rush for now.