The 2025 Ballon d'Or already has a winner: Lamine Yamal or Dembélé? Voting closed!
Published New:3/09/2025 - 17:08h
Updated New:3/09/2025 - 20:04h
Lamine Yamal and Ousmane Dembélé are eagerly awaiting September 22 to find out who will take home the 2025 Ballon d'Or. With voting closed, who is the main candidate?
Voting for the 2025 Ballon d'Or closed on August 25, so it is already defined who will take the prestigious award given by the magazine 'France Football' to the best footballer on the planet last season. Lamine Yamal and Ousmane Dembélé start as clear favorites, after the titles and performance obtained in 24/25.
A total of 50 specialized journalists from all over the world have been in charge of choosing the winner after three weeks of deliberation and analysis. In addition to the award for the best player of the year, 11 other awards are given in six categories.
The gala will take place on September 22 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Rodrigo Hernández, winner of the 2024 edition, was unable to defend his award due to the serious injury suffered in September, but the Manchester City midfielder will surely be rooting for the '10' of Barcelona, with whom he shares in the Spanish National Team, to take the award.
Lamine Yamal and Ousmane Dembélé: current form vs track record for the 2025 Ballon d'Or
The French magazine published on August 7 the official list with 30 nominees for the 2025 Ballon d'Or. Among them, along with Lamine, are three other FC Barcelona players: Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Pedri González, with the Brazilian being the one who obtained the best records the previous year.
Rafa closed the season with 34 goals and 23 assists, while Yamal equaled this number of goal passes (23), scoring another 18 goals. Dembélé, on the other hand, scored 35 goals and 16 assists, adding to his record the three domestic titles (league, cup and super cup), in addition to the Champions League.
The Barça 'cracks', for their part, also boast of the national treble, although Lamine's exceptional form in the last month of the season and the start of 25/26 has ignited the debate about the rivalry with the 'Mosquito'.
Since the beginning of May, the Mataró native has played 12 games with Barcelona, adding 9 goals and 4 assists. 'Dembouz', for his part, has 4 goals and 7 assists in that same period, during which the French international had as an additional challenge the dispute of the Club World Cup.
The 'Mosquito' missed the group stage due to a muscle injury and only started in two games, obtaining the runner-up position. His main argument to keep the Ballon d'Or is the Champions League title, a tournament where he was also chosen as MVP of the season.
| Indicator | Lamine Yamal | Ousmane Dembélé |
|---|---|---|
| Matches played | 56 | 53 |
| Minutes played | 4.643 | 3.488 |
| Goals | 18 | 35 |
| Assists | 23 | 16 |
| Titles | 3 | 4 |
- Discover more records, statistics and curiosities in our Lamine Yamal Data Center, a unique space to follow the evolution of the Barcelona star
Voting closed: what criteria define the winner of the Ballon d'Or?
In addition to comparing the collective record, individual performance and impact on their teams, the 50 journalists who choose the winner of the Ballon d'Or take into account three key criteria. These are:
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Individual performance and impact on their teams (statistics, awards).
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Collective titles with the club and the national team (record).
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'Fair Play' and sportsmanship of the player (on and off the field).
In individual performance, the records of each candidate are considered, as well as the individual awards obtained in the season. Ousmane, in addition to MVP of the Champions League, was Pichichi and MVP of Ligue 1. Lamine, in exchange, was leader in assists and best young player of LaLiga.
Regarding the record, this year, Yamal and Dembélé had the possibility of winning the Nations League. In the semifinal between Spain and France (5-4), the Barça winger won the individual duel scoring a double. However, La Roja would fall on penalties in the final against Portugal.
Finally, regarding the disciplinary aspect, the Barça winger only added three cautions the previous year, while the 'Mosquito' also saw three yellow cards, two of them against Bayern in the same Champions League match (he was sent off in the defeat in the group stage by 1-0).
Will the '10' of FC Barcelona make history as the youngest winner of the Ballon d'Or? In the women's category, Aitana Bonmatí will be looking for her third consecutive award, although Mariona Caldentey and Alessia Russo are also emerging as favorites after their great year with Arsenal.
- 👉Follow all the news of the 2025 Ballon d'Or at FCBN!
