The list of potential Ballon d’Or winners for 2025 is now down to just three

Leo Messi ruled the world of football for over a decade. They shared the throne incessantly between them. Today, this feat seems impossible.

The 2024-2025 football season is coming to an end without a clear winner of the Ballon d’Or. This will all be decided at the Club World Cup.

That Golden Ball favourite was on Saturday picked to take the FIFA trophy as the best football player of the season by none other than Gerard Piqué, who said he would be especially happy if Ousmane Dembele won the intensely sought-after prize. Barca’s ex-star defensive player described Bembele as a “brother” who he greatly admires. But the former French footballer is backing Lamine Yamal. He calls him “a very talented and special young player” who has three Euro Cups at age 17, matching Pele’s record.

The latest international break did not clarify anything and the battle for this prestigious award is still wide open. The final match of the season will be played. It promises to be decisive in choosing the winner, and three names stand out among the favourites: Lamine Yamal, Ousmane Dembélé and Kylian Mbappé.

Lamine Yaml, the youngest in history?

The young Barça winger seemed destined to lift it this year after leading the Catalan team to the national treble – La Liga, Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup – and the semi-finals of the Champions League, more for his weight in the team’s attacking aspect than for his numbers, which are not that far from those of the best players in Europe despite his 17 years: 18 goals and 25 assists in 55 Blaugrana games this season.

The absence of their teams from the Club World Cup leaves them vulnerable to being overtaken by their main rivals at the crucial moment of the race for the trophy. Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are both participants in the newly formatted competition that will take place in the United States between June 14th and 13th.

2.- Ousmane Dembélé, Yamal’s great rival

Yamal’s greatest rival is none other than former Barça player Ousmane Dembélé. Luis Enrique, PSG’s new manager, has turned the French striker into a deadly number 9. After several years of being out of the spotlight, he has found his best form and led his team to their first ever European Cup.

The Asturian coach is well aware of the importance of his 33 goals and 15 assist in 49 matches for the Parisian team.

Dembele deserves the Ballon d’Or because of the way he defended. This is what it means to lead a team. Without a doubt, he is deserving of the Ballon d’Or. It’s not just about the titles and goals. 

3.- Kylan Mbappé and his Golden Boot

It hasn’t been his best year in terms of titles and great performances in his first season with Real Madrid, but Kylian Mbappé has been one of the best players in the world for years and always appears in the betting pool.

The Whites were in their worst moments when he emerged as the Whites’ leader.

His 43 goals and five assists in the 56 matches he has played for Real Madrid, scoring the 2-0 in the European Super Cup final against Atalanta and the 1-0 in the Intercontinental Cup title duel against Pachuca, the only two trophies the club has won this season, are his main ‘weapons’ in the fight for the Ballon d’Or. 

The most important award in football could be his winning the world championship by making Real Madrid the first ever world champion.