Al-Khelaïfi points to Dembélé as favorite for Ballon d'Or

The Ballon d'Or gala will be held on September 22nd, but Paris Saint-Germain are already predicting that Ousmane Dembélé will be the winner of one of the highest individual awards.

In this sense, the president of the 'Parisian' entity, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, in the run-up to his team's match against Bayern Munich for the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup, made it clear that for him no one but Dembélé deserves the award.

"Given the magnificent season he has had, there is no doubt that he will win the Ballon d'Or," said Al-Khelaïfi.

Similarly, the PSG president made comments that point more towards criticism if the player from his team fails to win the award. "If Ousmane Dembélé doesn't win the Ballon d'Or, there's a problem. He has done everything."

Dream season for Dembélé

It is no wonder that the Qatari president prefers to shower praise on the 'mosquito', who recorded one of the best seasons of his career. Dembélé scored 33 goals and 15 assists in 50 games (3,318 minutes) during the 2024/25 season.

The '10' native of Vermont arrived at the Parisian club in August 2023, after he decided to leave FC Barcelona. On the other hand, Luis Enrique is managing to squeeze the best version out of the right winger.

Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, direct contenders for Ousmane Dembélé for the Ballon d'Or

Nasser Al-Khelaïfi's statements also seem to have clear objectives, as the players of FC Barcelona Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, are two of the players who are aiming to enter the top 3 of the Ballon d'Or.

In this context, the Azulgrana players would only have against them having been eliminated in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, but they conquered LaLiga, Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup, while Dembélé was crowned champion of the Champions League, Ligue 1 and the French Cup. He was also named the best player of the season in the European Cup, despite the fact that Raphinha was the top scorer (11) and assist provider (9).

The competition for the award is very tight. According to the ranking published by Score90 in May 2025, Lamine Yamal leads the list of favorites for the Ballon d'Or, consolidating himself in first place. He is followed by Ousmane Dembélé (PSG), Raphinha and Pedri, as well as Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), completing a Top 5 marked by a wide Azulgrana presence.

Likewise, Sport pointed out that Lamine Yamal is emerging as one of the main candidates for the award, since, despite his age, he could obtain a large number of votes for the level shown during the season, where he scored 18 goals and distributed 25 assists in 55 matches (4,553 minutes). For his part, 'Rapha' scored 34 goals and assisted on 25 occasions in 57 matches (4,553 minutes).

FOLLOW US ON OUR SOCIAL NETWORKS:

1. INSTAGRAM: fcbarcelonanoticias_com
2. FACEBOOK: FCBN
3. X (TWITTER): FCBNOTICIAS
4. THREADS: fcbarcelonanoticias_com