Ousmane Dembele and Lamine Yamal are both in the race for the Ballon d'Or and Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe has now revealed who will go his voice later this year
Kylian Mbappe believes that Mohamed Salah is not in the race for this year's balloon, after he has confirmed his choice for this year's main prize. The 2025 Award already has a number of front runners after a large number of amazing campaigns.
Ousmane Dembele is one of the favorites after a season in which he scored 33 goals when Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time. Barcelona Wonderkid Lamine Yamal is also one of the contenders after a brilliant season for the Spanish giants.
Liverpool -star Salah is also in the conversation after a striking personal campaign when the Reds lifted the Premier League title. But Mbappe failed to mention the Egyptian when he revealed to whom his voice would go – although he warned that he could still change his mind.
As quoted by RMC Sport, he said: “Would I vote for Dembélé? Yes. Is there really a need to explain? We are talking about Yamal and Dembélé, I'm going for Dembélé. It is very clear!
“Things evolve very quickly, as the last few winners have shown. We were not talking about certain players who finally won. Is it September? There will be a lot between occasional, but today we are talking about Ousmane and Lamine. That's why I have responded.”
Five -time balloon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo recently also gave his opinion on the balloon d'Or and specifically Yamal. He believes it is a bit too early to put that kind of pressure on him, but thinks the Barcelona man is firmly in the race.
During a Portugal press conference, Ronaldo said: “Lamine Yamal is doing very well, he fully benefits from his talent. Let the child grow now and does not practice too much pressure on him. Let him be and let him grow well, take the pressure away from him. He has no shortage of talent.”
He added: “The individual prizes have lost some consensus; I can't say anything about who should win. In my opinion, those who stand out and win the Champions League should win. But there is no consensus.
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“I don't believe much in individual prizes because I know what is happening behind the scenes. Lamine could win, such as Dembele or Vitinha, other emerging players … but individual prizes are not relevant.”
The Ballon d'Or 2025 will be distributed in September in a flashy ceremony in Paris, with the nominees who are confirmed a month earlier. Manchester City midfielder Rodri is currently the holder who claimed last year's prize last year.