Spanish media backing Lamine Yamal to win Ballon d'Or 2025; Ousmane Dembele suffers drop in ranking after Club World Cup defeat

Yamal and Dembele are touted as top contenders for the award this year.

The news surrounding this year’s Ballon d’Or winner has already begun, and we have many candidates who will have a chance to win the award.

This year’s Ballon d’Or winner is going to be unpredictable, but many Spanish journalist are putting their money on youngster Lamine Yamal to lift the award.

Spanish media backing Lamine Yamal to win Ballon d’Or

According to reports, Spanish media are desperate for the Yamal to win the award, despite Ousmane Dembele being seen as the favourite star to clinch the coveted prize this year.

However, his chances of winning the prize have shrunken after the forward failed to win the UEFA Nations League. While Barcelona failed to qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, meaning that Yamal missed out on the tournament. Dembele is now fourth on TNT’s list of Ballon d’Or power rankings, which is a significant drop from the list.

However, the fans will only be able to learn the actual winner during the ceremony, as it now appears to be a tight race for the award this year.

Who deserves the Ballon d’Or between Yamal and Dembele?

Many would vote for Dembele to win the award as he had an impressive season with Paris Saint-Germain, where he led them to a treble and netted 35 goals in 53 matches. This was by far the greatest season of his career.

He truly dominated the second part of the previous campaign and illustrated that he now merits the award more than ever after lifting the UEFA Champions League.

Meanwhile, Yamal is another top contender because what he is doing at such a young age is very rare to witness. He also had an impressive season as he guided Barcelona to a LaLiga and the Copa del Rey double, also scoring 18 goals and 21 assists for his club.

Moreover, he topped the league in successful dribbles and averaged 4.6 completed dribbles per match—the highest rate among Europe’s top five leagues. This is a commendable output for a player who is just 18.

Still, the Ballon d’Or voting will be based more on players’ impact at the club, their ability to spearhead them to titles. Hence, we believe it will be a tough call to determine who deserves the award this year.

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