Yamal will become the most special Golden Ball in history

Yamal is definitely one of the best players this season - Photo: REUTERS

In early 2025, football websites began to draw up the list of Golden Ball candidates for the 2024-2025 season.

At that time, Salah was the leader with destructive form. Next was Raphinha - also in equally good form. Then Mbappe and Haaland - understandable with their inherent class, then Vinicius, Saka, Dembele...

Yamal is also on this list, as a highlight to make football more interesting. Few people believe that a 17-year-old player can make a difference in the Golden Ball race.

But as the season came to an end, Salah, Mbappe, Haaland, Vinicius, and Saka left the race one after another following their team's failure.

By May, bookmakers and football sites began to rearrange the list of Golden Ball candidates.

According to bookmakers, Dembele is at the top with odds of 3/2 (bet 2 win 3), followed by Yamal (3/1), Donnarumma (5/1), Raphinha (7/1), Salah (8/1)...

But some football sites rate Yamal higher than all. For example, Score90 ranked the 17-year-old striker at the top of the list, followed by Dembele...

Many fans also believe that if PSG lose to Inter Milan in the Champions League final, the winner of this year's Ballon d'Or will be Yamal.

Why? Because Inter Milan - the team at the top of Europe in that case - has no outstanding stars. As for PSG, second or third place is the same. Dembele will have no advantage over Yamal.

If we put the stats on the scale, Dembele scored 33 goals and contributed 10 assists in all competitions for PSG.

But if we look at the stats, Salah is even more outstanding with 33 goals and 23 assists. The Egyptian superstar is the most comprehensive player in the group of candidates.

Raphinha is also outstanding in terms of numbers, with 31 goals and 17 assists in all competitions. At Barca, Raphinha is the "output" source of attacks.

Meanwhile, Yamal has 17 goals and 20 assists. If we count the total number of goals and assists (often called the G/A index), Yamal is the least with 37, far behind Salah (56), Raphinha (48) and Dembele (43).

But this is the Ballon d'Or, an award that honors the most outstanding individual of the year with a series of special criteria, including... ethics.

Remember how Vinicius lost to Rodri last season. Of course, you can't compare the goals and assists stats between a striker and a defensive midfielder.

Rodri beat Vinicius last season for a number of reasons, one of which was more important than anything else - emotion.

It is extremely rare in football for a defensive midfielder to become the leader of the game and the number one star of both the Euro champions (Spain) and the English champions (Man City).

Rodri did that, making him very special in the eyes of voters, in the eyes of football experts.

The story could repeat itself this season. Dembele took PSG to the Champions League final, and perhaps even to the title, but overall he has only done an excellent job in a very strong team built by coach Luis Enrique.

Right now at PSG, it's hard to say who is better, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia, Vitinha, or Donnarumma.

Salah and Raphinha have more impressive stats than Yamal. But they cannot bring the same excitement as this 17-year-old striker.

What Yamal has achieved in the past year makes him unique in contemporary football. Unprecedented, and possibly unmatched throughout football history. A 17-year-old player who makes all the famous defenses in the world tremble.

Yamal will be the most special Ballon d'Or in history, even if PSG wins the Champions League!

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/yamal-se-tro-thanh-qua-bong-vang-dac-biet-nhat-lich-su-20250516090747594.htm