Luis de la Fuente is done with polite whispers. With the Ballon d'Or ceremony looming on October 26, the Spain coach has gone on the offensive, using a prime-time spot on El Larguero to demand what he believes is long overdue: a Spanish winner.
Spain have 26 nominees across the various categories this year. A staggering presence. Yet, for De la Fuente, the biggest prize keeps slipping past his players, and he has run out of patience with the global pecking order.
He sees it as a contradiction. On the pitch, Spanish players dictate games, read spaces, and solve problems faster than anyone. On the gala stage, they sit and watch others collect the trophies.
"I think it has to be won by a Spaniard, because they are the best in the world in many aspects, including their understanding of the game. The Spanish footballer is an almost, almost perfect player. Furthermore, they have made more than enough merits in this year... And it seems that it is difficult to give that recognition to our players," De la Fuente said, his frustration barely disguised.
Lamine, Mbappé and the new order
One name cuts through the noise more than any other right now: Lamine Yamal.
The Barcelona prodigy has already placed himself in the same bracket as Kylian Mbappé, a statement that would have sounded outrageous from almost anyone else. From Lamine, it landed differently. It felt like a teenager simply describing his reality.
De la Fuente certainly sees it that way. Asked whether he would have dared to speak like that in his own playing days, the Spain coach immediately moved to protect his young star, framing the comment not as ego, but as evidence.
"I think you have to see in what context it is said. And I think Lamine says it simply because he has made enough merits, just like Mbappe. They are two players with a different touch and who, in the coming years, respecting others, will mark football. It does not seem like a lack of respect to me that they say they have made merits to win it," he stated.
For De la Fuente, Lamine and the newly-signed Real Madrid forward Mbappé are not just headline acts. They are the present and the future, the two poles around which the next era of elite football will orbit. But he refuses to let the conversation stop there.
The forgotten pillars: Fabián, Oyarzabal, Pedri
Behind the glamour of Mbappé and Yamal, the Spain coach sees a different injustice brewing. He believes several of his most important champions have been pushed to the margins of the Ballon d'Or debate, their influence on Spain’s success reduced to footnotes.
Fabián Ruiz is his prime example. The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder rarely dominates the global narrative, yet De la Fuente views him as a constant at the highest level, a player whose performances carry the same weight as those on every shortlist.
When pressed to choose between Rodri and Lamine Yamal for the main prize, De la Fuente swerved the binary choice and fired off another reminder.
"And Fabian, whom we always forget about. The other day I said that I missed Mikel Oyarzabal, who at the very least should be among the 30, to recognize the talent of a fantastic footballer and who has been the top scorer for the world champion national team."
It was a pointed intervention. Oyarzabal, a leader and finisher for the world champions, left outside the top 30. For De la Fuente, that omission says as much about perception as performance.
"Those things at the moment must be put in value, regardless of whether they later win it or not. I am also surprised that Pedri is not there, but of those who are, I do not bet on any one of them. Whoever wins it, of the Spanish footballers, I will be very happy."
No single horse. No carefully curated campaign around one star. His argument is collective: the body of work of this Spain side should be the decisive factor when the votes are cast.
A goalkeeping factory at the top of the world
De la Fuente’s case does not stop at outfield players. He sees Spain’s depth in goal as the clearest, most irrefutable proof of the country’s standing.
All three of his World Cup goalkeepers – Unai Simón, David Raya, and Joan García – are nominated for the positional trophy. That is not a quirk of the voting, in his eyes. It is a pattern that has held for years.
"Let's bet on what is ours and value it. I believe that the Ballon d'Or should be won by a Spaniard, of course. In the same way that, in the trophy for goalkeepers, it is a privilege that we have the three goalkeepers from the World Cup nominated. And we have always said that among the five best goalkeepers in the world there are always three Spaniards, at the very least."
Three Spaniards in any top five. Year after year. For a national coach, it is a luxury. For De la Fuente, it is also a challenge to the rest of the world: if Spain dominate the positions, why don’t they dominate the podium?
As October 26 approaches, the Spain manager has made his stance unmistakable. This is no quiet lobbying effort. It is a demand for a correction, a call to align football’s biggest individual honour with the reality he sees every time his team steps onto the pitch.
