The debate around the Ballon d'Or 2025 continued after the brilliant victory of Ousmane Dembélé, the star of Paris Saint-Germain, ahead of Lamine Yamal.
The consecration of Dembélé and the end of the Parisian wait
Dembélé's success is based on a historic season and crowned with trophies. Not content with winning the Three national trophies In France (Ligue 1, Cups), the winger was the major craftsman of the coronation of PSG in UEFA Champions Leaguethe very first in the history of the club. This C1 feat was the decisive factor that enabled him to ensure first place in the ranking of France Football.
Although the winner's choice continues to arouse discussions, the publication of the final statement of votes by France Football confirmed the Net superiority Dembélé in this race.
The gap with his dolphin, the young prodigy of FC Barcelona, Lamine Yamalis particularly striking:
This gap is the largest recorded between the first and the second since the victory of Karim Benzema in 2022, which had ahead of Sadio Mané of 549 points.
Lamine Yamal, historic winner of the Kopa trophy
Despite the frustration of not having won the supreme award, Lamine Yamal was widely honored by winning for the second consecutive year the Kopa trophywhich rewards the best player under the age of 21 in the world. The young Catalan thus becomes the First player to achieve this feat to double the bet.
The legitimacy of this trophy is all the greater since its jury is composed exclusively of Old golden balloons still alive. Of the 31 eligible winners, 27 participated in the voteaffirming the recognition of his peers.
Yamal obtained an overwhelming majority, harvesting 21 First choice votes. Only Roberto Baggio, Ruud Gullit and Pavel Nedved chose another player for first place. This plebiscite by such a prestigious panel of experts attests to its most promising talented status in world football.
A legendary jury (including Zidane) behind the Catalan prodigy
The support given to Lamine Yamal for the Kopa 2025 trophy by former glories of world football is particularly notable. The group of superstars who voted for him includes some of the biggest names in history:
| Legends having voted for Lamine Yamal (1st choice) | ||
| Lionel Messi | Zinedine Zidane | Ronaldo Nazario |
| Marco Van Basten | Lothar Matthaus | Ronaldinho |
| Kaká | Fabio Cannavaro | Luka Modric |
| Karim Benzema | Rivaldo | Luis Figo |
| George Weah | Hristo Stoichkov | Matthias Sammer |
| Gianni Rivera | Oleg Blokhin | Allan Simonsen |
| Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | Igor Belanov | Jean-Pierre Papin |
| Andriy Shevchenko | Rodri |
This vote confirms Yamal in his role as a future pretender to the Ballon d'Or, even if 2025 will remain the year of the consecration of Ousmane Dembélé.
