Ousmane Dembele vs. Lamine Yamal: Who holds the edge in latest 2025 Ballon d’Or Power Rankings?
The stage is set in Paris as the world prepares to discover who will be crowned the best player on the planet. On Monday, the Theatre du Chatelet will welcome the sport’s biggest stars for the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony.
This year’s race has been one of the most hotly contested in recent memory. With Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo no longer dominating the conversation, the field feels wide open — though two names have emerged as clear favorites. Will it be Barcelona’s teenage phenomenon, Lamine Yamal, or PSG’s treble-winning talisman, Ousmane Dembele, who takes home the golden ball?
The Ballon d’Or, awarded annually by France Football, is widely regarded as the most prestigious individual honor in football. The voting period for this year’s edition covered matches played between August 2024 and July 2025, including the Club World Cup.
Performances over that time were extraordinary: Mohamed Salah led Europe in goal contributions, Kylian Mbappe was the continent’s top scorer, and Lamine Yamal and Raphinha dazzled in Barcelona’s La Liga-winning campaign. But this year, all eyes are on two players who defined the 2024-25 season — one in Catalonia, one in Paris.
Here are the 2025 Ballon d'Or nominees!#ballondor pic.twitter.com/tehmbU4R0j
— Ballon d'Or (@ballondor) August 7, 2025
The contenders
Here is an updated look at TNT Sports’ final Ballon d’Or Power Rankings:
| Power Rank | Player | Club |
| 10. | Gianluigi Donnarumma | Manchester City |
| 9. | Cole Palmer | Chelsea |
| 8. | Kylian Mbappe | Real Madrid |
| 7. | Nuno Mendes | PSG |
| 6. | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool |
| 5. | Achraf Hakimi | PSG |
| 4. | Raphinha | Barcelona |
| 3. | Vitinha | PSG |
| 2. | Lamine Yamal | Barcelona |
| 1. | Ousmane Dembele | PSG |
Dembele’s season of destiny vs. Yamal’s historic rise
The revelation of the rankings confirmed what many suspected — Ousmane Dembele has claimed the top spot. The PSG forward delivered the season of his life, scoring 35 goals and providing 16 assists across all competitions as the French giants completed a historic treble, including their first-ever UEFA Champions League title.
It was not just the numbers that impressed voters but his transformation under Luis Enrique, who used him as a hybrid No. 9. For the first time since his Rennes breakthrough season, Dembele hit double digits in league goals — finishing with 21 in Ligue 1 alone.
If there is a player who could have denied Dembele, it was Lamine Yamal. At just 18 years old, the Barcelona prodigy produced a campaign for the ages: 18 goals, 21 assists, and a Champions League semi-final masterclass against Inter. Yamal’s performances have many believing that it is a matter of when, not if, he wins the Ballon d’Or.