If the Ballon d’Or is decided by a point system and not politics…

Zonal Sports is here! ranking Today, the news outlet published a list of the top 10 nominees. The news outlet determines the winner, provided that no political or commercial interests interfere in the final decisions. If the Ballon d’Or were awarded strictly on merit—on raw impact, silverware, and irrefutable performance metrics—these are the top ten, starting from the tenth down to the first.

10. Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain) – 93.00 points

Nuno Mendes, a left-back who rarely makes the Ballon d’Or list, is not your typical defender. In a PSG treble-winning campaign, Nuno Mendes was a full-back who was brilliant on both ends. In the quarter-final match against Aston Villa, his two assists and two goal redefined what can be done by a full-back in modern times. He shut down Liverpool’s left flank over two legs and held his ground in 25 duels one-on-one. Though outshone by Dembélé’s attacking brilliance, Mendes was the iron spine of PSG’s left corridor. Sadly, despite the defensive genius of Mendes and many others, judges still tend to be more interested in strikers.

9. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona) – 93.24 points

Lewandowski’s stats are impressive. At 36 years old, he has 27 league goals, and an additional 11 in the Champions League. He flourished in the 2024-2025 season, with his efficiency—a 23 per cent conversion rate—mirroring his xG to the decimal. The Polish icon kept Barcelona’s attacking unit together through coaching changes and, despite Raphinha and Yamal’s rise, was the heart of the locker room. Lewa, who was not the main figure on decisive Champions League evenings, is overshadowed by more flashy, younger stories.

8. Pedri (Barcelona) – 95.89 points

Pedri’s fragility was evident a year ago. Now, he’s ironclad. Pedri’s world-class promise was finally fulfilled with four La Liga goals and five assists. His Champions League campaign, which was marked by vision and durability in both the Champions League and La Liga, also showed his ability to deliver. He missed only one match during the season. His passing accuracy was 89%, and he created six crucial chances in just Benfica’s game. But Pedri lacked iconic moments in the Champions League knockout stages—a vital Ballon d’Or litmus test.

7. Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain) – 102.335 points

Hakimi redefined what a wingback is in 2025. The Moroccan, with six goals and 14 assists as well as unmatched stamina blitzed PSG on the right side while organizing play from deeper positions. The semi-final strike against Arsenal and the goal in the final match against Inter were added to his impressive resume. The media still downplayed him, citing his lack of “signature moments”. He remains this season’s most complete fullback, despite being the most overlooked. Brilliant is a term that is highly contested.

6. João Neves (Paris Saint-Germain) – 104.33 points

Neves was the silent architect of PSG’s triple. At just 20, he registered a 91 per cent passing success rate, made 57 successful tackles in the Champions League—a mark untouched since Gattuso’s 2009 run—and bossed Pep’s City in the quarters. At Arsenal, he made seven tackles to anchor PSG against the elite press. It’s all about function and no flair. Portuguese international is also ranked in the top 10 of all players for blocks, touches, and progressive passes. Neves’s name may not appear in highlight reels, yet he’s a Ballon d’Or candidate in pure footballing value.

5, Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) – 104.36 points

Mo Salah contributed 18 assists and 29 goals to a Premier League season that won the title. The Egyptian magician played in all 38 matches of the league, and contributed to 86% of them. Yet, in the Champions League—where legends are made—his light dimmed. PSG eliminated Liverpool and Salah was missing. Salah is one of the world’s best players, but he won’t be the best in 2025.

4. Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain) – 109.59 points

Vitinha, is what you get when talent meets maturity. He scored six goals, had two assists, 95 per cent accuracy with passes in the UCL and recovered 5.6 times per game. He controlled the midfield in the quarter-finals against Villa with 164 touches. He lacked a decisive moment, though, in the Champions League. Ballon d’Ors are awarded on nights such as semi-finals and finals, despite his undeniable influence. Vitinha was PSG’s compass—but not the hero.

3, Raphinha (Barcelona) – 113.20 points

Raphinha had a great season. With 18 league goals, nine assists, and a historic Champions League showing—21 goal involvements to match Ronaldo’s 2014 record—he became the first player to top both goals and assists charts in a single UCL season. His hat-trick against Bayern broke psychological barriers—seven direct goal involvements across four Clásicos. Raphinha is third in the Champions League despite Yamal’s brilliance.

2, Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) – 120.97 points

Yamal, at 17 years of age, became the UCL semi-finalist and La Liga Champion. Nine goals and 13 assist in 31 starts does not tell the entire story. He danced his way through Inter’s defense, completed 14 passes in one UCL leg and made each final he participated in a statement. He broke records, he broke lines and he broke grown men. He would have won the Ballon d’Or if not for PSG’s treble.

1. Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain) – 135.50 points

Dembélé led PSG to the league, the Coupe de France, and their first-ever Champions League title. With 21 Ligue 1 goals and six assists, plus 14 goal involvements in the UCL, he delivered in every critical moment—assisting in both legs of the quarters, scoring and assisting vs Arsenal, and capping it all with two assists in the 5-0 final demolition of Inter. Every 73 minutes, he scored a goal. 

He leads Ligue 1 on nearly all offensive metrics, including goals, chances, total shots, total contributions to goal, goal-per-shot, passes in the penalty area and points scored per match. This isn’t just a tale of redemption. This is a coronation.This would be the top 10 if football was honest. No sponsors. No sentiment. No sentiment. Just the game. And Dembélé? He was the one who owned it.