Ballon d'Or 2025: between Dembélé's Champions run and Yamal's talent | OneFootball

On one side, the most prestigious title in club football; on the other, virtuosity and precocity. The Frenchman Ousmane Dembélé, from Paris Saint-Germain, Champions League winner, and the prodigy from Barcelona, Lamine Yamal, are the favorites to lift their first Ballon d'Or this Monday.

The elite of world football will gather at the Théâtre du Châtelet, in the center of Paris, for the announcement of the new winners of an award that for so long passed from the hands of Lionel Messi to Cristiano Ronaldo, and vice versa, and which last year went to two Spaniards: Rodri and, in the women’s category, Aitana Bonmatí.

Messi and CR7 shared a total of 13 Ballon d'Or awards between 2008 and 2023. Last year marked the end of an era, with the Manchester City captain being honored after leading Spain to the Euro 2024 title.

But, with Rodri sidelined due to a long-term injury, Dembélé has emerged as the favorite among a constellation of Paris Saint-Germain players.

No fewer than nine members of the PSG squad that won the Champions League by defeating Inter Milan 5-0 in the final in May are among the 30 nominees.

They are: Desiré Doué, Achraf Hakimi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Nuno Mendes, João Neves, Fabián Ruiz, Vitinha, and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who now plays for Manchester City.

In theory, Dembélé stands out for his ability to fill the gap in PSG’s attack left by star Kylian Mbappé, now at Real Madrid. He scored 35 goals in all competitions. His contribution also helped the Parisian giant win Ligue 1 and reach the final of the Club World Cup.

New Real Madrid boycott?

The 28-year-old winger, a former Barcelona player turned center-forward, made a qualitative leap after his previous highest-scoring season in 2018-2019 with the Catalan team (14 goals).

“I think I’m one of the favorites, but we’ll see what happens,” he said, calling the award “the Holy Grail.”

A bit younger, at just 18 years old, Yamal has established himself as a key player at Barça, where he is considered the successor to Messi.

He won the Kopa Trophy for best under-21 player at last year’s Ballon d'Or ceremony, after helping Spain achieve glory at the Euros.

Yamal scored 18 goals in 55 matches in all competitions last season, when Barça won the LaLiga and Copa del Rey titles, although his team was eliminated in the Champions League semifinals by Inter Milan, with an excellent performance from the youngster.

“I don’t dream of winning one Ballon d'Or, I dream of winning many,” Yamal confessed in a recent interview with Spanish journalist José Ramón de la Morena.

After a change in criteria, the Ballon d'Or is now awarded based on achievements in a single season, rather than over a calendar year as was customary. Among the other nominees are Viktor Gyökeres, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Cole Palmer, and Liverpool’s duo Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.

Mabppé and Vinícius Junior also appear on the list, a year after Real Madrid boycotted the ceremony, outraged that the Brazilian did not receive the top prize.

Bonmatí dreams of third consecutive award

According to the Spanish press, Real Madrid will also not send an official delegation to this year’s ceremony.

The Ballon d'Or is chosen by votes from a journalist from each of the top 100 countries in FIFA’s world ranking.

In the women’s category, Barça and Spain star Aitana Bonmatí dreams of a third consecutive trophy.

The 27-year-old Catalan was named the best player of the Euros in July. However, Spain lost the final to England on penalties, and Barça failed to defeat Arsenal in the Champions League final in May. In her favor — and that of her teammate Alexia Putellas — is the fact that England’s victory was collective, with no particular player standing out.

Lucy Bronze, goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, Alessia Russo, and captain Leah Williamson are all nominated, as is Chloe Kelly, who converted the decisive penalty in the final.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.