Dembele is the number one candidate for the Golden Ball

With Lamine Yamal and Raphinha having just been eliminated from the Champions League, Ousmane Dembele is edging closer to the prestigious individual award.

Dembele has been brilliant this season.

According to calculations from CIES, Dembele is leading the race for the 2025 Ballon d'Or with a 63% chance of winning, far surpassing Mohamed Salah (9%), Lamine Yamal (23%) or Raphinha (21%). If he wins the Champions League with PSG, Dembele will almost certainly have one hand on this individual title.

The fact that Dembele is French also makes his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or higher, because the award organizer (France Football) will have certain favors for his compatriot.

With 33 goals and 11 assists this season, Dembele's chances of winning the Ballon d'Or are increasingly clear. The former Barcelona star shone in both semi-final matches against Arsenal. In the first leg at the Emirates, Dembele scored in the fourth minute, kick-starting PSG's excellent performance.

In the second leg, the assist for Hakimi helped Dembele reach 8 goals and 4 assists for PSG in the 2024/25 Champions League. This is the record that a player has ever achieved for a French club in a Champions League season.

The Ballon d'Or usually goes to players who win major trophies. In 2025, there will be no major national team tournaments (World Cup or Euro), so club achievements will be the main factor.

Source: https://znews.vn/dembele-la-ung-vien-so-mot-cho-qua-bong-vang-post1551720.html