Dembele beat Yamal in the race for the balloon d’Or with a record lead
football
Gazeta-Express
26/09/2025 20:15
The star of Paris Saint-Germain, Ousmane Dembélé, still hovers in the seventh heaven after winning the Ballon d’Or Award 2025 and left Lamine Yamal behind.
After months of speculation about who would climb the podium of both in Paris, Dembélé emerged as the winner after a sensational season in the French capital.
He led PSG to a complete league victory and a historic first victory in the UEFA Champions League in the Princes Parc before he received the prestigious balloon d’Or last week.
Although many in the football world praised him for this award after an extraordinary year, there was a wave of controversy that concentrated on Barcelona and was primarily directed against the former striker.
Lionel Messi agreed to the decision, but Lamine Yamal’s father was not, and Neymar Junior went even further with his comment on the final ranking list: “Raphinha number five is a joke,” he wrote on social media.
Following the debate, France Football announced the final ranking based on the votes cast. Dembélé hit Yamal with a lead of 321 points.
A jury of 180 journalists from the 100 best countries in the FIFA ranking list, which vote for the ten best players in the shortlist, decides on the balloon d’Or.
Depending on the rank, the players are ranked with 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point.
Dembélé was the first choice of 100 jurors to receive 73 votes, while Lamine Yamal received only 11. This big distance ensured the final overall result: Dembélé with 1.350 points and Lamine Yamal with 1.059 – the biggest difference between first and second place in 2022 when Karim Benzema won with 549 points in front of Sadio Mané with 193.
In addition to Dembélé and Lamine Yamal, six other players received the votes of the first election, including Vitinha with six votes, Mohamed Salah with four and Achraf Hakimi with three.
The star of Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappé, was the first choice only one voice, as well as the midfielder of Naples, Scott Mctominay, and Dembélés PSG teammate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia./GazetaExpress/
