2025 Ballon d’Or Prediction thread

[Dump3er]

Well , Barcelona didn't want him anymore and Dembele didn't want to stay with Barcelona either so it was a win-win situation for both of them. However, in my opinion , Dembele is not a better player than Haaland , Salah ,  Yamal or even Raphina and this Balloon D'or won't change my mind haha.  Yea , he won it but in so many eyes he didn't deserve it but I personally think the stats pushed him to be the winner this year.

To say he didn't deserve it is too much of a negative stance in my opinion. I am with you that over a long period of time, Dembele would not be at the top of the list of players you mentioned, but when you have a storyline of one season when they had this incredible grind and all these titles and not to mention the teams they could beat and the results in the CL final, picking a player from PSG wasn't a wrong decision in my mind. There was unquestionably more to that decision, something like Yamal is only 18 years of age and will probably get 15 more chances to win it while Dembele perhaps won't get there again.

Let me repeat that I don't disagree with you, but I think I get where they are coming from with their decision. In regards to stats, Raphinha was by far the best I think. Giving it to Haaland wouldn't have been right in that season. Since PSG won the CL, they decided to give it to a PSG player. It was all about the CL because Ligue 1 doesn't count much. I can envision what it would look like if Haaland played in France, he would score 50 goals a season and still don't get it if they wouldn't win the CL.

[TastyChillySauce00]

Well , Barcelona didn't want him anymore and Dembele didn't want to stay with Barcelona either so it was a win-win situation for both of them. However, in my opinion , Dembele is not a better player than Haaland , Salah ,  Yamal or even Raphina and this Balloon D'or won't change my mind haha.  Yea , he won it but in so many eyes he didn't deserve it but I personally think the stats pushed him to be the winner this year.

It's still a big lost for Barcelona. They bought Dembele for €145m, then sold him for only €50m. he also absent almost two years during his career in Barcelona due to the injury, and received 260k from them everyweek. 

[AirtelBuzz]

I didn't really like this year's Ballon d'Or.
Dembele won the award because he was with PSG and PSG won the Champions League. I don't think he's any better than Raphinha. I don't think the Champions League title should be the biggest criterion for the Ballon d'Or. It used to be great if Messi won it, and Ronaldo won it too; no one would have thought about anything else, but these players, Raphinha and Dembele, will never come close.
Yamal is coming, and next year, Yamal will be the winner of the Ballon d'Or. Make a note of it now...

It's true that the Champions League title shouldn't be a major criterion for the Ballon d'Or, actually Rafina really struggled enough last season but when he got into the top five, it seemed like a joke to me. This player did not receive the reward he deserved for his performance, however in terms of trophy wins and statistics, the French player was perhaps in the best position. As a result the selectors awarded this new Ballon d'Or to the current best player of Paris Saint-Germain Football Club. Despite his outstanding performances for Barcelona, the player was not deemed eligible, as a result we can already see that his compatriot Neymar has already made explosive comments about Rafinha's new Ballon d'Or ranking.

[LFC_Bitcoin]

Deserved by Dembele in the end I think. I wouldn’t have argued about it though if Vitinha had won it. I thought he was superb in the big CL games last season, everything went through him for PSG. He dictates the tempo of how they play.

Any way, new season now. I hope it is a Liverpool player to win it next as that would mean we have likely had a very successful season

[Ale88]

I'm not a fan of Dembelé but, in my opinion, he deserved to win the Ballon d’Or: he was one of the best PSG players, he won all trophies and, especially, helped PSG to win the Champions League after Mbappé left. Everybody thought PSG would be lost without Mbappé and actually Dembelé was able to play in a different position that lead the French team to win everything. Considering his contribution with goals and assist he deserves it.

At the same time I feel like this is just another proof of how football is getting worse and worse because, with all due respect to Dembelé, he is nowhere near to the level of the past winners.

[cande86]

Well , Barcelona didn't want him anymore and Dembele didn't want to stay with Barcelona either so it was a win-win situation for both of them. However, in my opinion , Dembele is not a better player than Haaland , Salah ,  Yamal or even Raphina and this Balloon D'or won't change my mind haha.  Yea , he won it but in so many eyes he didn't deserve it but I personally think the stats pushed him to be the winner this year.

It's still a big lost for Barcelona. They bought Dembele for ?145m, then sold him for only ?50m. he also absent almost two years during his career in Barcelona due to the injury, and received 260k from them everyweek. 

I think this player had a lot of bad luck, obviously also caused by himself, it's clear that he wasn't aware of what he was causing himself, but he had a notable change of mentality and it showed.
I'm very happy that he has managed to reach a very high level, perhaps the maximum for a footballer, he deserves it.

[ndutndut]

Deserved by Dembele in the end I think. I wouldn’t have argued about it though if Vitinha had won it. I thought he was superb in the big CL games last season, everything went through him for PSG. He dictates the tempo of how they play.

Any way, new season now. I hope it is a Liverpool player to win it next as that would mean we have likely had a very successful season

I remember Dembele was always said to be a player synonymous with injuries. We saw this at Barcelona, ​​where he was absent more often than he played. However after moving to PSG although doubts arose especially with Mbappe fame, he continued to prove his worth through hard work after Mbappe left in his second season, and last season was his peak. At PSG he wasn't just a regular he was the driving force of PSG's attack. With his lethal dribbling skills, creativity, and contributions of goals and assists, Dembele became a key player in all competitions. Ultimately he led PSG to a treble, and he truly deserved to win this year's Ballon d'Or.

Yes. I feel sorry for Liverpool's players especially M. Salah. He always impresses every season, but unfortunately, they always fall short in the race for the UCL trophy. Perhaps this is why Liverpool players only dominate the Ballon d'Or, but find it difficult to win it.

[Justbillywitt]

Well , Barcelona didn't want him anymore and Dembele didn't want to stay with Barcelona either so it was a win-win situation for both of them. However, in my opinion , Dembele is not a better player than Haaland , Salah ,  Yamal or even Raphina and this Balloon D'or won't change my mind haha.  Yea , he won it but in so many eyes he didn't deserve it but I personally think the stats pushed him to be the winner this year.

To say he didn't deserve it is too much of a negative stance in my opinion. I am with you that over a long period of time, Dembele would not be at the top of the list of players you mentioned, but when you have a storyline of one season when they had this incredible grind and all these titles and not to mention the teams they could beat and the results in the CL final, picking a player from PSG wasn't a wrong decision in my mind. There was unquestionably more to that decision, something like Yamal is only 18 years of age and will probably get 15 more chances to win it while Dembele perhaps won't get there again.

Let me repeat that I don't disagree with you, but I think I get where they are coming from with their decision. In regards to stats, Raphinha was by far the best I think. Giving it to Haaland wouldn't have been right in that season. Since PSG won the CL, they decided to give it to a PSG player. It was all about the CL because Ligue 1 doesn't count much. I can envision what it would look like if Haaland played in France, he would score 50 goals a season and still don't get it if they wouldn't win the CL.

Irrespective of who won the Ballon d'Or, there is definitely going to be a dividend opinions. I agree with you that PSG winning the champions league was what gave Dembele the edge to win the award ahead of Yamal and Raphinha. It would have been unfair PSG to give it to someone else outside their team. Those guys did incredible job last season especially in the champions league.

[Marykeller]

Well , Barcelona didn't want him anymore and Dembele didn't want to stay with Barcelona either so it was a win-win situation for both of them. However, in my opinion , Dembele is not a better player than Haaland , Salah ,  Yamal or even Raphina and this Balloon D'or won't change my mind haha.  Yea , he won it but in so many eyes he didn't deserve it but I personally think the stats pushed him to be the winner this year.

It's still a big lost for Barcelona. They bought Dembele for €145m, then sold him for only €50m. he also absent almost two years during his career in Barcelona due to the injury, and received 260k from them everyweek. 

A big loss for Barcelona, turned out to be a big gain for PSG. That's incredible how a rejected stone turned out to be a diamond in another team's hand. Dembele performs way unexpectedly than we ever imagined, to be the hit striker of PSG. If Barcelona had seen it coming, I think they wouldn't have sold Dembele at a loss price of €50m(losing €95m). That's a huge loss

[Fiatless]

I think this player had a lot of bad luck, obviously also caused by himself, it's clear that he wasn't aware of what he was causing himself, but he had a notable change of mentality and it showed.
I'm very happy that he has managed to reach a very high level, perhaps the maximum for a footballer, he deserves it.

Was he the one who caused his injury? Just as every other player, Dembele has suffered from hamstring, knee, ankle and muscle injuries. I don't think any player wants to get injured because it affects not just on the pitch actions but the psychology and emotions of the player. He really worked hard in PSG  and was lucky to become the poster boy after the departure of Mbappe. He deserves the award.  

[el kaka22]

We all know that Dembele deserved it. People who are at around my age, saw the Ronaldo Messi period and they think that one would have to have insane stats and insane season to have something like this reward. And even after that, the season Lewandowski had (covid cancelled this) and then Benzema, so basically we have seen some insane seasons to deserve this.

Obviously because of this reason they are seeing what Dembele did, which is great group achievement but nothing that extraordinary from him directly, and they are saying "this stat wins Ballon d'or now?". And the real answer is that it has always won Ballon d'or, go back before Messi/Ronaldo times and you will see how before those two, these stats were great.

[Alex077]

I didn't really like this year's Ballon d'Or.
Dembele won the award because he was with PSG and PSG won the Champions League. I don't think he's any better than Raphinha. I don't think the Champions League title should be the biggest criterion for the Ballon d'Or. It used to be great if Messi won it, and Ronaldo won it too; no one would have thought about anything else, but these players, Raphinha and Dembele, will never come close.
Yamal is coming, and next year, Yamal will be the winner of the Ballon d'Or. Make a note of it now...

 Haha, I see what you mean, man....  Even when Messi or CR7 were scooping them up year after year, it wasn’t just because they were gods of the game - it was also Champions League wins, national team runs, finals, all that baggage behind them.
on Dembélé vs Raphinha, I’ll give you that, Raphinha had just as strong of a season.  Same thing happened with Modrić in 2018 - not the best by raw numbers, but World Cup final + UCL title and boom, ballon d’Or.

As for Yamal - I’m all in. If Barça sort themselves out and Spain grab a big trophy, he won’t just win one Ballon d’Or, he’ll stack a few...

[Agbe]

We all know that Dembele deserved it. People who are at around my age, saw the Ronaldo Messi period and they think that one would have to have insane stats and insane season to have something like this reward. And even after that, the season Lewandowski had (covid cancelled this) and then Benzema, so basically we have seen some insane seasons to deserve this.

Obviously because of this reason they are seeing what Dembele did, which is great group achievement but nothing that extraordinary from him directly, and they are saying "this stat wins Ballon d'or now?". And the real answer is that it has always won Ballon d'or, go back before Messi/Ronaldo times and you will see how before those two, these stats were great.

Dembele deserves the balloon Dior this season by all standards because, he was fantastic this season winning the treble with PSG scoring some important goals and even giving assists. Dembele was the best player this season and no body can question his choice for the men balloon Dior this year congratulations to him.

[Adbitco]

Well , Barcelona didn't want him anymore and Dembele didn't want to stay with Barcelona either so it was a win-win situation for both of them. However, in my opinion , Dembele is not a better player than Haaland , Salah ,  Yamal or even Raphina and this Balloon D'or won't change my mind haha.  Yea , he won it but in so many eyes he didn't deserve it but I personally think the stats pushed him to be the winner this year.

Dembele is not a better player than these guys as you clearly said, it's your opinion and not a fact and that's the good thing about this. As you also claimed his not supposed to win it, who is? Yamal? Biggest joke of the century, with what statistics is he supposed to win the Balloon d'Or with? You said it was statistics that pushed Dembele for the award, lol. What was supposed to push? Let's hear it from you.

[katanic97]

Deserved by Dembele in the end I think. I wouldn’t have argued about it though if Vitinha had won it. I thought he was superb in the big CL games last season, everything went through him for PSG. He dictates the tempo of how they play.

Any way, new season now. I hope it is a Liverpool player to win it next as that would mean we have likely had a very successful season

Yes, Dembele honestly deserved it. The rest is a matter of "taste" Some prefer Raphinha, some like Yamal, but the only certain thing is that after all those serious injuries, Dembele still managed to get back on track and eventually win the Ballon dor.
As for Liverpool, in my opinion Mo Salah deserves the Ballon dor. For me, he’s still the most useful player and in top form. Or maybe Ekitike? But only if he stops taking his shirt off when celebrating a goal (joking)

[Dump3er]

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Irrespective of who won the Ballon d'Or, there is definitely going to be a dividend opinions. I agree with you that PSG winning the champions league was what gave Dembele the edge to win the award ahead of Yamal and Raphinha. It would have been unfair PSG to give it to someone else outside their team. Those guys did incredible job last season especially in the champions league.

No it wouldn't have been unfair when Raphinha or Yamal had been chosen as the winner, but I don't agree with those who say it is wrong to give it to Dembele. I rather see it as it could have been at least as right to give it to those two Barcelona players. I know it is a bit of bending the semantics when you it's at least as right, but I understand why winning the CL is important at least to a certain degree. It is supposed to be an award for individual players, but simultaneously it remains a team sport. Since Dembele didn't just score like 13 goals and played so many outstanding games, I don't consider this a scandal like Yamal's dad did. I think he didn't do his son any good with his behavior if you guys am aware what I am talking about.

[Ale88]

Well , Barcelona didn't want him anymore and Dembele didn't want to stay with Barcelona either so it was a win-win situation for both of them. However, in my opinion , Dembele is not a better player than Haaland , Salah ,  Yamal or even Raphina and this Balloon D'or won't change my mind haha.  Yea , he won it but in so many eyes he didn't deserve it but I personally think the stats pushed him to be the winner this year.

It's still a big lost for Barcelona. They bought Dembele for €145m, then sold him for only €50m. he also absent almost two years during his career in Barcelona due to the injury, and received 260k from them everyweek. 

The mistake in the first place was paying Dembelé 145 millions, he was a very good player but not a 145 million player. Then the second mistake was buying Dembelé only after selling Neymar and not before: at that point Borussia Dortmund knew Barcelona were desperate to sign someone and had all the negotiation power in their hands. Had Barcelona signed Dembelé before selling Neymar probably they would have paid him almost half the price.

[Webetcoins]

It's true that the Champions League title shouldn't be a major criterion for the Ballon d'Or, actually Rafina really struggled enough last season but when he got into the top five, it seemed like a joke to me. This player did not receive the reward he deserved for his performance, however in terms of trophy wins and statistics, the French player was perhaps in the best position. As a result the selectors awarded this new Ballon d'Or to the current best player of Paris Saint-Germain Football Club. Despite his outstanding performances for Barcelona, the player was not deemed eligible, as a result we can already see that his compatriot Neymar has already made explosive comments about Rafinha's new Ballon d'Or ranking.

Depends on the player of course. I mean you can definitely win the UCL title but not have a single Ballon d'or winner in that team. Because if someone has some insane stats, then yeah they will win.

Imagine if anyone had 55 goals and 16 assists and won their own league and domestic cup this season.

You think they wouldn't be above Dembele? Or someone who has 92 goals, which has happened before, and lets say the person with 92 goals in that season didn't had UCL win, you think they wouldn't win? Of course they would.

When you have UCL winner but nobody that did that much better than him, then the best player of the UCL winner team gets picked, but if there is someone who has scored twice as much, it is not even a question.

[HajiBagi]

Deserved by Dembele in the end I think. I wouldn’t have argued about it though if Vitinha had won it. I thought he was superb in the big CL games last season, everything went through him for PSG. He dictates the tempo of how they play.

Any way, new season now. I hope it is a Liverpool player to win it next as that would mean we have likely had a very successful season

A Liverpool player? I don't think any Liverpool player can win the award in the next two seasons, a well-deserved Ballon Dior by Dembele, and if they give it to any PSG player, I will not argue or have any problem with it because they deserve it, Dembele win 2025 Ballon Dior, and some people think that Lamin Yamal also deserve it, I don't know what Yamal did to deserve the Ballon Dior, Raphina was Barcelona's best player last season, and he should be the one that everyone should be talking about winning the award.

Yamal deserves the Kopa trophy he won because he is the best young player in the world right now. This is the first time in the last two years that Ballon Dior has given the award to the true winner; if some teams like Real Madrid do not do what they does with Ballon Dior, they will continue to give the award to the person they like because that is what they always do.

[Cryptoprincess101]

Deserved by Dembele in the end I think. I wouldn’t have argued about it though if Vitinha had won it. I thought he was superb in the big CL games last season, everything went through him for PSG. He dictates the tempo of how they play.

Vitinha is good for the ballon d'Or but if we check at his overall statistics and that of Ousmane Dembele, you will agree with me that Dembele is far in a better position to win over Vitinha. Of course, Vitinha really made great impact in the success of PSG in the Champions League, but the ballon d'Or is not mostly awarded based on who got the better performance in the Champions League even though it's a good boost in a player's statistics.

Any way, new season now. I hope it is a Liverpool player to win it next as that would mean we have likely had a very successful season

Okay, let me check at players who can possibly win the Ballon d'Or for Liverpool... Just two players that can have that influence of winning the ballon d'Or in Liverpool which are Cody Gakpo and Hugo Ekitike. These two players can stand a chance of winning the ballon d'Or if they increase their statistic and improve in performance. I know you might be thinking about Mo Salah but despite that he was part of the top 10 in the ballon d'Or list, i think he is not fit for the ballon d'Or because he just got almost same vibes with Erling Haaland which is why Rodri won the ballon d'Or last year while Erling Haaland was more visible in the team. Mo Salah is good at goal scoring, but he doesn't have that technical gameplay that gives the attraction for a potential ballon d'Or winner.