PSG Star Deserves France’s Backing to Edge Lamine Yamal in Ballon d’Or Race, Says Ex-OL Standout | OneFootball

The race for this year’s Ballon d’Or looks like it’s coming down to PSG winger Ousmane Dembélé and Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal. While Yamal has dazzled in La Liga, Dembélé’s Champions League triumph and standout showings on the biggest stage may give him the upper hand.

PSG finally lifted their long-awaited UEFA Champions League trophy—and they did it in style. The Ligue 1 champions thrashed Inter Milan 5-0 in the 2024-25 final at Allianz Arena, delivering a statement performance in front of the world.

Dembélé played the role of creator early, setting up two goals as PSG took control from the start. Achraf Hakimi and Désiré Doué scored in the first half to send the French giants into the break up 2-0.

The second half was no different. Doué added his second, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Senny Mayulu also finding the net to cap off a historic night for PSG—and one that could tilt the Ballon d’Or spotlight toward Dembélé.

Will France back Ousmane Dembélé over Lamine Yamal?

Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images

As Ligue 1’s joint top scorer alongside Mason Greenwood and the standout performer in the Champions League this season, Dembélé has to win the Ballon d’Or for former Olympique Lyonnais player Karl Toko Ekambi—no question about it.

“The Spanish always stand firmly behind their players, 200 percent,” Ekambi said (h/t Le10Sport). “In France, all we do is criticize ours! Normally, we should all be backing Ousmane Dembélé, but people keep finding faults with him… Do you think if a Spanish player had Dembélé’s season, people would be talking? They wouldn’t say a word! They’d just be waiting for him to be handed the trophy.”

“Based on the criteria they always give us, there shouldn’t even be a debate! The problem is, they just don’t want to give it to Dembélé. And I also think that, maybe, it bothers the French that Dembélé could win a Ballon d’Or before Mbappé.”