The Power of PR: How Yamal Beat Raphinha to Second Place in the Ballon d’Or

Lamine Yamal finished second in the Ballon d'Or ahead of his Barcelona teammate Raphinha. While no one is shocked — after all, many people were gunning for Yamal to win over Ousmane Dembélé — looking at it objectively, it was Barcelona’s PR that not only propelled Yamal to second but also pushed Raphinha down the rankings. After all, Raphinha was once a favorite to win the Ballon d'Or, but “Mr. 9 La Liga goals from La Masia” received the biggest PR push. And doesn’t it make sense for an academy kid to win the Ballon d'Or? I mean, Michael Olise had a great season and was placed at number 30 simply because of a lack of PR. So I maintain that PR is what pushed Yamal to the top.