Lamine Yamal has made it clear that winning once is not enough for him.
The Barcelona forward says his mentality is “WIN, WIN, WIN, always.” And after already collecting three La Liga titles, a European Championship and the 2026 FIFA World Cup with Spain, the 19 year old is setting targets that stretch far beyond his current trophy cabinet.
Yamal discussed his ambitions, Ballon d’Or hopes and desire to build his own legacy during a wide ranging interview with L’Équipe.
Yamal wants much more than what he has already won
Yamal has already achieved more at 19 than most players manage in an entire career.
With Barcelona, he has won three La Liga titles, two Spanish Super Cups and the Copa del Rey.
His international career has also moved at remarkable speed, with Euro 2024 followed by Spain’s 2026 World Cup triumph.
FIFA confirmed that Yamal and Pau Cubarsí became only the fourth and fifth teenagers to play in a World Cup final, with both finishing the tournament as champions, but Yamal is not satisfied.
“I’ve won three La Liga titles, and I want seven or eight, at minimum,” he told L’Équipe. “I haven’t won the Champions League yet. I want to win it.”
That ambition also extends to Europe's biggest club competition.
“If I win one Champions League, I want to win three in a row,” Yamal said.
It is the same mentality he applies to individual awards.
“If I win the Ballon d’Or, I want to win five more.”
The numbers may sound huge, but they fit the mentality Yamal described himself, which is that winning is not something he wants to experience occasionally; it is the standard he wants to maintain.
“My mentality is to WIN, WIN, WIN, always,” he said. “And if I don’t win, see you next year.”
His Ballon d’Or argument is about more than goals
Yamal's comments about the Ballon d’Or were particularly interesting because he does not believe the award should simply go to the player with the biggest goal tally.
For him, being a special footballer is also about the way a player makes people feel when they watch.
“The Ballon d’Or recognizes the best player of the year, a unique player, the one who gives pleasure watching, the one for whom you tune into a match just to see him,” he explained.
He pointed to Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho as examples of players who had that quality.
“When I think about the Ballon d’Or, I think of Messi, Ronaldinho, players like that, who are different, who bring a smile when you watch them play,” Yamal said.
That does not mean Yamal is ignoring his numbers or achievements. His 2025/26 campaign included 16 La Liga goals and 11 assists as Barcelona won the league, and he was subsequently named La Liga Player of the Season.
But Yamal sees his style of play as one of his strongest arguments.
“Everyone who watches football knows what my arguments are,” he said when discussing his Ballon d’Or case.
Yamal respects the other Ballon d’Or candidates
Despite his confidence, Yamal did not dismiss the players competing with him for the award.
Asked about the different candidates, he acknowledged that each has a case.
“They all have their own arguments. Leo Messi has his World Cup; others have different arguments,” he told L’Équipe.
“If someone says ‘Messi deserves it’ or ‘Rodri deserves it’, that is completely respectable.”
That is consistent with his previous comments about the award.
Earlier in September, Yamal said the decision ultimately belonged to the voters and that he would not beg journalists to choose him.
He also pointed to Barcelona and Spain's success as part of his case.
The 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony is scheduled for October 26.
He does not want to be the next Messi or Pelé
Perhaps the clearest indication of how Yamal views his career came when he was asked about comparisons with football legends.
The Barcelona star does not want his career to become an attempt to surpass somebody else.
“I don’t want to be better than Pelé or Messi,” Yamal said. “I want to be Lamine Yamal and be remembered as Lamine Yamal.”
That distinction matters because Yamal grew up at Barcelona and has inevitably attracted comparisons with Messi because of his age, position, left footed ability, and connection with the club.
Yet rather than embracing the idea of becoming a successor to the Argentine, he wants his own identity to define his career.
And his ambitions suggest that identity is going to be built around winning.
The World Cup has raised expectations
Yamal's confidence comes after a season in which he helped Barcelona retain La Liga before becoming a world champion with Spain.
Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 after extra time in the 2026 World Cup final, with Ferran Torres scoring the winning goal.
Yamal started the final and became one of the youngest players ever to appear in a World Cup final and win it.
The achievement has given him another major trophy before his 20th birthday.
But rather than treating it as the peak of his young career, Yamal appears to see it as another starting point.
He wants more league titles; He wants his first Champions League; He wants three Champions League trophies in a row if he gets the first one.
And if the Ballon d’Or arrives, he is already talking about adding five more.
For Yamal, the message is remarkably straightforward that; winning something once only creates the next target.
At 19, he has already collected a World Cup, European Championship and three La Liga titles. His latest comments suggest he has no intention of slowing down.