On September 22, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris will host the prestigious Ballon d’Or ceremony. This traditional award, presented by France Football magazine since 1956, honors the best soccer player of the European season — a campaign that will conclude this Sunday with the Club World Cup final between Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea. And the race for the award is clearly down to two contenders…
Ousmane Dembélé
Ousmane Dembélé is emerging as the clear favorite. The French forward has played 52 matches for PSG, scoring 35 goals and providing 16 assists, with over 3,300 minutes on the pitch. He was the top scorer in Ligue 1 with 21 goals in 29 matches, and he also netted 3 goals in 4 appearances in the French Cup.
In the Champions League, where PSG were crowned champions after a dominant 5-0 win over Inter, Dembélé was named Player of the Tournament by UEFA. He tallied 8 goals and 6 assists in 15 matches in Europe’s top competition.
“I would give the Ballon d’Or to Dembélé, simply because of how he defended in this final,” praised Luis Enrique, his coach. He wasn’t the only one to recognize Dembélé’s performance. Pep Guardiola added: “I don’t know who will win it, but Dembélé, who has won everything this year, could definitely be the one.”
What adds to the 28-year-old Frenchman’s case is his trophy haul this season: Ligue 1, Coupe de France, Trophée des Champions, and the Champions League. On top of that, he could still lift the Club World Cup, the UEFA Super Cup (vs. Tottenham) on August 13, and the Intercontinental Cup in mid-December.
Lamine Yamal
Slightly behind in the race is Lamine Yamal, the 17-year-old sensation from Barcelona. The prodigy was undoubtedly one of the key figures in Barça’s triumphant domestic season, where they claimed La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Super Cup, beating Real Madrid in both finals. He was also part of the squad that reached the Champions League semifinals.
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Yamal’s individual stats are impressive: 18 goals and 25 assists in 55 matches for Barcelona. Add to that his stellar performances in Euro 2024, where he helped Spain win the tournament and finished as the top assist provider with 7 assists.
In total, Yamal played 7 matches for La Roja this season, scoring 3 goals, and also helped the national team reach the Nations League final, where they narrowly lost to Portugal.
