{"id":2557,"date":"2026-09-15T18:13:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T10:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/?p=2557"},"modified":"2026-09-15T18:13:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T10:13:15","slug":"ballon-dor-barca-have-backed-lamine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/15\/ballon-dor-barca-have-backed-lamine\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Ballon d&#8217;Or? Barca have backed Lamine&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"563\" src=\"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-17.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2558\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-17.png 1000w, https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-17-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-17-767x432.png 767w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rodrigo Hernandez, Barcelona&#8217;s marquee signing of the transfer window, does not view the Catalans as &#8220;favourites&#8221; to win the Champions League, though he insists European glory remains within reach. He also revealed the club have thrown their weight behind Lamine Yamal in the race for the Ballon d&#8217;Or.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an interview preview published by &#8216;Mundo Deportivo&#8217;, the recently crowned world champion assessed FC Barcelona&#8217;s European prospects: &#8220;It is an achievable title and, so to speak, the final step we need to take to establish ourselves and show Europe the team we truly are.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;That being said, I do not think we are favourites. You have to understand where we come from and what it takes to be champions, and this team still need to polish several aspects to get there. The Champions League is not about who is the best; it is a tournament of moments and of knowing how to manage those moments,&#8221; analysed Rodri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The midfielder stressed that progress is bound to a crucial learning curve: &#8220;It goes hand in hand with experience. Before you win, you have to lose and you have to learn, and those of us who have won major silverware know that. I played in the Champions League countless times before I finally managed to lift it.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also touched upon the Ballon d&#8217;Or debate surrounding Lamine Yamal in a preview for &#8216;La Vanguardia&#8217;: &#8220;The club have backed Lamine because they believe he is the player who deserves it most, which is completely fair. Beyond that, I would love to see a Spaniard win it.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rodrigo Hernandez, Barcelona&#8217;s marquee signing of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2557"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2557\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2559,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2557\/revisions\/2559"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}