Barcelona star speaks on the Lamine vs Dembélé Ballon d’Or debate | OneFootball

Barcelona star Pedri has late this week provided his take on the ongoing battle for the next Ballon d’Or award.

This comes amid the widespread understanding that two clear frontrunners have emerged for the prize.

The pair in question? Lamine Yamal, and Ousmane Dembélé.

Both Barcelona prodigy Lamine and Paris Saint-Germain standout Dembélé are of course fresh off spectacular individual campaigns in 2024/25.

In the case of the former, the 18-year-old, despite his tender years, ran riot down Barca’s right flank en route to a domestic treble.

PSG counterpart Dembélé, meanwhile, was nothing short of pivotal in the French heavyweights bringing to an end their hunt for glory in the Champions League, finally putting his long-term struggles in the final third to bed once and for all.

Such endeavours see the two sitting pretty atop the Ballon d’Or odds, with Dembélé as things stand boasting the edge.

Speaking during an interview with France Football this week, it therefore came as little surprise when the subject of the ‘Golden Ball’ race was put to the aforementioned Pedri.

And, in quotes relaid by Diario Sport, the midfielder was full of praise for both his current and former teammates.

First, on Lamine, Pedri began:

“He has an incredible quality for one-on-one, the first player who dribbles is as if he wasn’t even there. He plays to have fun and that shows on the pitch.”

Shifting focus towards Dembélé, the Spanish international continued:

“Ousmane is also a player with a lot of power. He plays with both legs, I still don’t know if he’s left-footed or right-footed. He has scored a lot of goals this season, something he didn’t usually do. They have both had an incredible campaign.”

Conor Laird – GSFN