Lamine Yamal has won praise after stopping for a photo with Declan Rice's son Jude following Spain's 3-2 Nations League win over England at Wembley.

Yamal, 19, was spotted sharing a sweet moment with the injured Arsenal star's son at the national stadium after his Barcelona team-mate Anthony Gordon asked if he could meet the youngster before departing London.

The World Cup winner and Ballon d'Or contender happily obliged, posing for a snap with Jude. Rice then shook Yamal's hand and briefly exchanged words with the Barcelona star before they parted ways.

Yamal, who pounced on a horrendous Marc Guehi error to give the reigning world champions the lead at Wembley, has been publicly backing his claim for a miaden Ballon d'Or win ahead of the London ceremony on October 26. 

'Being completely honest, it's not just this year I've been at a Ballon d'Or [winning] level, but longer,' he told The Guardian. 

'Everyone knows that; they know I am differential. I think people think: 'Lamine is 19, he'll win it at some point, so let's say someone else…' I just have to win, win, win, and there will be a time when there's no debate.

'There will be people who love me, people who say: 'What a pain in the a*** he is', and that's fine.'

Yamal is among the frontrunners to lift the illustrious prize, with France's Kylian Mbappe and England captain Harry Kane also in contention.

Kane, who scored 73 goals for club and country last season, is the bookmaker's favourite to win next month, but Yamal has seemingly dismissed his rival's credentials in a thinly-veiled dig.

'I think the Ballon d'Or should go to the best player in the world, full stop,' he said. 'Not to a player who has scored 80 goals, because if you score 80 goals, you get the top scorer award for that. 

'Those are two completely different things that people do not understand.

'The best player in the world is the one where, as a commentator, you are following a match and enjoying it – you see him and think: 'That is a player who clearly stands out from all the others.''