There is a very simple reason why Ousmane Dembélé won the Ballon d’Or by a landslide.
The award is not automatically about the best player, but the player who’s had the best year. Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah quicken the pulse, and enjoy the backing of passionate fan-bases, but neither of these fine entertainers delivered a year as good and successful as Dembélé did with Paris Saint-Germain. That’s why I voted for him.
Dembélé finished with 1,380 points, 321 ahead of second-placed Yamal. Of the 100 top spots awarded by Ballon d’Or jurors, Dembélé received 73 to Yamal’s 11. The other 16 went to Vitinha (6 times), Salah (4), Achraf Hakimi (3) and one each for Kylian Mbappé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Scott McTominay.
With no World Cup or European Championships in the period under review, August 1 2024 to August 1 2025, the Champions League was always likely to provide the showcase for the star acclaimed as having had the best year. Dembélé’s displays in the Champions League made it his year. Eight goals, and six assists, including winners away at Liverpool and Arsenal, led to Dembélé being named Champions League Player of the Season by the UEFA technical observer group. This was L’Année Dembélé, Ballon d’Or incoming.
The award is decided by a journalist from each of the 100 top-ranked footballing nations. I’ve been covering football since 1986, and a Ballon d’Or juror since 2006. I take the 30-man shortlist of players “curated” by experts from France Football, the meticulous organisers, and study videos from YouTube with an open notebook and an open mind. I go back through notes of covering players during the season. I assess the details on each nominee sent by France Football and other data I favour. Lists of players’ goals and assists need context: did their contribution come in a pressure moment? That gives better insight into a nominee’s character and influence on a game. It’s a lengthy business assessing contenders, easily a day holed up in my study. It’s a huge honour to be a juror.
