The most prestigious individual award in world soccer has a new owner, with Ousmane Dembélé being voted as the winner of the 2025 men’s Ballon d’Or.
The Frenchman claimed the award following a sublime 2024–25 season with Paris Saint-Germain, beating Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, who came in as the runner up, and teammate Vitinha, who completed the podium.
Although Dembélé and Yamal were widely considered as the top contenders to win this year’s prize, an upset wasn’t in the cards in 2025. The PSG forward was the odds-on favorite to win going into the 69th annual ceremony.
As is always the case with the Ballon d’Or, some won’t agree with the voted winner and controversy is intrinsic with the award—see no further than last year when Manchester City’s Rodri defeated Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior to claim the accolade.
However, it’s undeniable that in this year, despite the otherworldly performances from Yamal over the past season and as much as it may pain Barcelona fans, Dembélé is very much deserving of the 2025 Ballon d’Or.
Here’s how Dembélé beat Yamal to be recognized as the best player in the world.
Goal Contributions
It’s appropriate to compare the attacking output of both Dembélé and Yamal given that the pair are offensive players constantly finalizing attacking actions. Goal involvements was always going to play a significant role in determining the 2025 Ballon d’Or winner.
Dembélé had by far the most prolific goalscoring season of his career, finding the back of the net 35 times in 53 games played across all competitions for PSG in 2024–25. Kylian Mbappé and Robert Lewandowski were the only players in Europe’s top five leagues that scored more non-penalty goals than Dembélé’s 32 across all competitions in 2024–25, per Opta.
The Frenchman also had 16 assists to bring his total 2024–25 goal contribution tally to 51. From the moment the calendar turned to 2025 until May’s Champions League final, no player in Europe’s top five leagues had more goal contributions than Dembélé’s 33. He finished as the top goalscorer in Ligue 1 with 21 goals.
On the other hand, Yamal finished the season with 18 goals across all competitions, but only scored nine goals in La Liga play. The Spaniard has the edge in assists during 2024–25 thanks to his 25 across all competitions. However, when counting total goal involvements, Dembélé’s 51 are superior to Yamal’s 43 in two fewer appearances last season.
Furthermore, in the Champions League, the only tournament both Dembélé and Yamal featured in last term, the PSG player had eight goals and six assists to the five goals and four assists from the Barcelona playmaker.
Team Success
Collecting silverware at both the club and international level is arguably the biggest factor in the Ballon d’Or vote, at least in recent years.
In this department, Dembélé and Yamal are essentially equal except for the most important trophy of the 2024–25 season.
Paris Saint-Germain continued their reign over French soccer, winning Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and the Trophée des Champions. (French Super Cup) Similarly, Barcelona won their first ever domestic treble, conquering La Liga, the Copa Del Rey and the Supercopa de España. (Spanish Super Cup)
However, Dembélé’s PSG lifted the first ever Champions League trophy in club history. The Parisians pummeled Inter Milan—the team that eliminated Barcelona in the semifinals—5–0 in the 2024–25 final, with Dembélé assisting two of the goals.
The 28-year-old forward was the most influential player in PSG’s title-run. His aforementioned 14 goal involvements in the Champions League—nine of which came in the knockout rounds—were five more than any other player on Luis Enrique’s side.
The same can’t be said about Yamal, whose nine Champions League goal contributions pale in comparison to Barcelona teammate Raphinha, who had 22 goal involvements. Robert Lewandowski also had more goal contributions for Barcelona in Europe thanks to his 11 goals.
Furthermore, Dembélé was named the 2024–25 Ligue 1 and Champions League player of the season. Meanwhile in La Liga, it was Raphinha who got that recognition over Yamal.
National team success eluded both Dembélé and Yamal last term as Portugal claimed the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League.
Present vs. Future
At just 18-years-old, Yamal had the opportunity to become the youngest ever Ballon d’Or winner in history. The electrifying teenager has taken the world by storm and it’s widely considered he’ll be among the world’s best for the foreseeable future. There’s no question that the Spaniard was the best young player of the year, but he just wasn’t the best overall player during 2024–25, despite his father’s protestations.
A decade ago, Dembélé, like Yamal, was considered a diamond in the rough and one of the most exciting young players in the sport. Now, as a 28-year-old and after a number of setbacks, the Frenchman has managed to piece it all together to live-up to his potential.
Playing as a false nine in PSG’s dynamic and fluid attack, a mature, focused, energized and devastating version of Dembélé blossomed and dominated the sport in 2024–25. Simply put, he was the best player for the the best team in the world a season ago.
Multiple Ballon d’Or wins could realistically be waiting for Yamal in the coming years, but in 2025, given what transpired last term, no player deserved to be recognized as the best player in the world more than Dembélé.
READ MORE ON THE RECENT HISTORY OF THE BALLON D’OR
This article was originally published on www.si.com as How Ousmane Dembele Beat Lamine Yamal to 2025 Ballon d’Or Win.