Harry Kane won the Ballon d'Or on Monday, drawing praise across British newspapers. GOAL said the Daily Mail criticised Lamine Yamal in that coverage.
Newspaper praise for Kane
GOAL said Kane's selection stirred pride in England, with every newspaper calling his victory over challengers Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal 'well deserved'. The Guardian wrote: "Kane is the entirely deserving winner. It is a reward for a year in which he won the European Golden Shoe, played a key role in Bayern Munich winning the Bundesliga title, reached the World Cup semi-finals as England captain and, above all, emerged as a remarkably modest superstar."
The Times on Kane's path
The Times wrote that Kane scored his first professional goal in England's third tier. The Times wrote that Kane was released by Arsenal's Hale End academy at the age of eight because he was supposedly 'too fat'.
GOAL on Yamal's view
GOAL said Lamine Yamal said ahead of the vote that the award was mainly between him and Kylian Mbappé. GOAL said Yamal left Kane out of the reckoning.
Daily Mail criticism
The Daily Mail wrote that Yamal hired people with dwarfism to liven up his 18th birthday party. Britain's Daily Mail wrote: "On Monday evening, we saw that football is capable of bestowing its highest honour on men like Kane: men who did not seek the spotlight, did not provoke controversy, did not misuse their fame and who, unlike Yamal, did not hire people with dwarfism to liven up their 18th birthday party, but instead devoted themselves entirely to a career of quiet excellence."