Barcelona Claim Threatens PSG Star’s Ballon d’Or Dream in Tense Final Race | OneFootball

Ousmane Dembélé is playing the best football of his career at PSG, emerging as a legitimate Ballon d’Or contender to rival Barcelona standout Lamine Yamal.

Since Kylian Mbappé’s departure, the former Barcelona winger has taken on a leading role, regularly stepping up in big UEFA Champions League moments.

This season, the 28-year-old has racked up 33 goals and 13 assists in 47 appearances across all competitions, with many of those goals coming in clutch European fixtures.

Dembélé found the net against Manchester City and recorded a hat-trick against VfB Stuttgart to help PSG reach the knockout stage. He stayed hot in the later rounds, scoring against Stade Brestois, Liverpool, and Arsenal, while also tallying two assists over both legs against Aston Villa.

Can PSG standout edge Barcelona youngster for Ballon d’Or

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On the latest Ensemble PSG Podcast, Robin Bairner,  the chief editor at Football Transfers, revealed that Dembélé’s only shot to usurp Yamal for the prestigious award will come at the end of this month in the Champions League final.

“I think what it’s all about really is the match against Inter,” Bairner said. “Obviously, if he can be decisive in that game, he has got an outstanding shot of winning the Ballon d’Or. This year—and I say this year when I’m talking about 2025—he has been absolutely lights out in the Champions League.

“I guess to most of the voters for the Ballon d’Or, that’s really where they’re going to be watching their football in terms of Dembélé, because Ligue 1 is just not visible enough, and we mentioned that before.

“But Dembélé has played 10 Champions League games in 2025. These have all been high-stakes games, the Manchester City game and Stuttgart [league phase games] included. In those games, he has been decisive. He’s got a goal or an assist in eight of those games.”

Will Lamine Yamal hype train be too much for PSG star?

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Nonetheless, Bairner does admit that the hype machine pushing Yamal for the Ballon d’Or could be too much to overcome even if Dembélé factors in PSG winning the Champions League.

“If he gets the winner or plays an important role against Inter for PSG to win, I think it’s going to be very hard to overlook Dembélé for the Ballon d’Or,” Bairner added. “That said, we’ve talked about visibility and the marketability of Ligue 1, and the struggle the league has had to really shine on the big stage.

“That’s going to potentially cost Dembélé in this vote because there’s so much hype around Lamine Yamal at the moment. When you’re watching him play, it’s fully deserved because this is such a thrilling talent. This is a 17-year-old kid who has carried Barcelona—at least to some extent—this season.”