Luis de la Fuente's Call for Spanish Recognition at Ballon d'Or

Luis de la Fuente has heard enough.

With the Ballon d'Or gala looming on October 26, the Spain coach has stepped out of the usual diplomatic lane and gone on the offensive, using a high-profile appearance on El Larguero to call out what he sees as a long-running blind spot in world football: Spanish excellence without Spanish recognition.

Spain have 26 nominees across the various categories this year. It sounds impressive. To De la Fuente, it is not nearly enough.

He believes the game’s most coveted individual prize has dodged Spanish hands for too long, despite a generation – and now a new wave – of players who, in his eyes, set the standard for tactical intelligence and technical quality.

“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,” he said.

That is not a gentle nudge. It is a challenge to the voting bloc.

Yamal, Mbappé and a new order

The noise around this year’s award has inevitably gravitated towards the sport’s new axis: Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé.

Yamal, still a teenager at Barcelona, lit the fuse himself by speaking of his place alongside Mbappé in the game’s elite bracket. The comment triggered the predictable debate about arrogance, humility and age. De la Fuente did not hesitate to take his winger’s side.

He sees no ego trip, only 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.

In De la Fuente’s mind, Yamal and the newly-signed Real Madrid star Mbappé are not just marketing faces. They are the present and the roadmap for where the sport is heading. But even as he embraces that narrative, he refuses to let it swallow everyone else.

The forgotten pillars: Fabian, Oyarzabal, Pedri

Strip away the hype, he argues, and you find the core of Spain’s success in players who rarely dominate headlines.

Fabian Ruiz is his prime example. The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder has quietly become one of the most reliable performers in De la Fuente’s set-up, a metronome and enforcer rolled into one, but rarely mentioned in the same breath as the game’s megastars.

When pressed to choose between Rodri and Lamine Yamal for the Ballon d'Or, the coach swerved the obvious names and went straight to those he feels the world keeps overlooking.

“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.”

That line cuts to the heart of his argument. For De la Fuente, the collective triumph of Spain – world champions, stacked with decisive contributors – should weigh heavily in any individual vote. Oyarzabal’s omission from the 30-man shortlist and Pedri’s absence from the conversation jar with the reality he sees every international break.

“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.”

The message is blunt: stop treating Spanish brilliance as background noise.

A goalkeeping factory at the top of the world

De la Fuente’s case does not rest solely on outfield players.

He points to one statistic that, for him, should end any debate about Spain’s current place in the game: 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. It is a pattern.

For years, Spain has churned out elite keepers, and De la Fuente insists that trend has only hardened. In his view, at least three of the world’s top five goalkeepers are, almost as a rule, Spanish.

“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.”

This is not a neutral coach politely praising his squad. It is a national selector demanding the global game recalibrate how it measures influence and greatness.

On October 26, the envelopes will open and the cameras will find their winners. Whether a Spaniard climbs that stage or not, De la Fuente has already planted his flag: if the Ballon d'Or is meant to reward those who define the era, how much longer can Spain’s standard-bearers be asked to wait?