Coluna do Fla
·23 September 2025
Ballon d'Or: Juventus player hails two Flamengo stars at awards ceremony

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Yahoo sportsColuna do Fla
·23 September 2025
The magazine France Football hosted the 'Ballon d'Or' award ceremony this Monday (22), where Ousmane Dembélé from PSG (FRA) was crowned champion. During the event, Turkish player Kenan Yıldız from Juventus (ITA) praised two players from the current Flamengo squad.
In an interview with 'TNT Brasil', Yıldız was asked if he has any inspiration from Brazil. In response, the athlete mentioned his former Juventus teammates. “Yes, I have many friends in Brazil, the former Juventus players, like Danilo and Alex Sandro. I have many friends, good friends,” he said.
Yıldız has been playing for Juventus' professional team since the 2023/24 season. Therefore, he shared the locker room with Danilo and Alex Sandro. The defender left the Turin club in 2025, while the full-back signed with Flamengo a year earlier, in 2024.
With Yıldız in the audience, the Ballon d'Or crowned Dembélé, a French player from PSG. In second place was Lamine Yamal, a Spaniard from Barcelona (ESP). The podium was completed by Portuguese player Vitinha from PSG. The best Brazilian was Raphinha from Barça, in fifth place. Raised by Flamengo, Vini Jr from Real Madrid (ESP) finished in 16th place.
Mentioned by Yıldız, Danilo and Alex Sandro are experiencing different moments. While the defender started in two of the last three Flamengo matches this season, the full-back has not played for a month due to physical issues.
However, Alex Sandro has recovered and was on the bench against Vasco on Sunday (21), for the Brasileirão. Therefore, the two former Juventus players are available for coach Filipe Luís for the match this Thursday (25) against Estudiantes (ARG), in the second leg of the quarter-finals.
The match kicks off at 9:30 PM (Brasília time) in La Plata, with coverage on ESPN, on a closed channel, and Disney Plus via streaming. However, Coluna do Fla provides the best coverage of the match on the website, social media, and YouTube.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.