The 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony at Paris’s Théâtre du Châtelet crowned Ousmane Dembélé as the best player in the world. Yet the decision has quickly become one of the most debated in recent memory.
At 28, Dembélé played a decisive role in Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League triumph. He finished as joint-top scorer in the knockout stages with four goals, including key strikes against Liverpool and Arsenal. However, critics argue that two of those came in a far less competitive match against Brest, diminishing their significance.
Domestically, the Frenchman shone in Ligue 1 though PSG’s overwhelming financial dominance has long reduced the competitiveness of the French top flight.
The controversy deepens when comparing Dembélé’s win to the careers of legends such as Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, Thierry Henry, Paolo Maldini, Robert Lewandowski, Mohamed Salah, and Erling Haaland all of whom never lifted the Ballon d’Or.
For many, the award should honor the “best footballer in the world” rather than the “most valuable player on a winning team.” By that measure, critics argue, Dembélé’s season, while excellent, was not historically dominant.
Barcelona’s 18-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal emerged as a strong alternative. His 2024/25 campaign was stunning: 18 goals, 25 assists in 55 games, and a domestic treble with Barça. Crucially, he performed on the biggest stages, even though Barça fell short in the Champions League semifinals.
Many fans believe Yamal’s age worked against him. Had he won, he would have become the first teenage Ballon d’Or winner in history.
Reports circulated before the ceremony that PSG and Dembélé’s representatives had lobbied heavily for votes—a growing trend around the award. Such rumors have only fueled skepticism about whether his victory was truly merit-based.
Meanwhile, in the women’s category, Aitana Bonmatí claimed her third consecutive Ballon d’Or, despite Barcelona and Spain both losing finals. Her individual brilliance was enough to outweigh the lack of trophies, a logic that many feel should have applied equally to Yamal.
There is no denying Dembélé’s talent or his impact on PSG’s success. But his win feels less convincing compared to Yamal’s individual brilliance. The 2025 result underscores a growing perception that the Ballon d’Or is shifting away from recognizing pure footballing excellence, and more toward rewarding narrative, prestige, and institutional influence.
Sources: Znews
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