Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Ballon d'Or, Football, Ousmane Dembele, Mohamed Salah, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Ligue 1
Ben McCrum
Topics: Ballon d'Or, Football, Ousmane Dembele, Mohamed Salah, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Ligue 1
The 2025 Ballon d'Or winner may already have been decided as comparing the stats of some of the top candidates rivals one clear favourite.
With just a handful of matches left in the 2024/25 season, fans are already discussing who they think will win the 2025 Ballon d'Or, with several of the world's best players all tipped to claim the prestigious award.
Having enjoyed incredible seasons for some of the biggest clubs in Europe, the likes of Paris Saint-Germain superstar Ousmane Dembele, Barcelona pair Lamine Yamal and Raphinha or Liverpool great Mohamed Salah all have a chance to win this year.
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However, if you compare the stats of all four players this season, there can only be one winner for the 2025 Ballon d'Or.
As it stands, Dembele is the bookies favourite to win the Ballon d'Or this year, no doubt largely due to the vital role he has played in guiding Paris Saint-Germain to glory in Ligue 1 to a Champions League final against Inter Milan.
And his stats throughout the season back this up, as comparing how he has performed per 90 minutes compared to his Ballon d'Or rivals shows exactly why many consider Dembele to be the best player in the world right now.
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Across 28 matches in the domestic league this season, the Frenchman has scored 1.2 goals per 90 minutes, with 1.1 of these being non-penalty goals.
Comparatively, Salah has scored 0.8 Premier League goals per 90 (0.6 non-penalty), while Raphinha has 0.7 La Liga goals per 90 (0.6 non penalty) with teammate Yamal lower at 0.3 goals per 90, all of which were in open play.
Dembele also boasts a superior conversation rate and passing accuracy over the other stars, sitting at 28.77% and 83.32% respectively.
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However, it is worth noting that, compared to both the Premier League and La Liga, France's Ligue 1 is arguably a weaker league overall, as demonstrated by PSG's dominance in recent years, winning the title 11 times since 2011/12.
The winner will be announced at the 2025 Ballon d'Or ceremony in Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on Monday, October 27th, 2025.