Lamine Yamal Speaks Out After Losing Ballon d'Or to Ousmane Dembele
- Lamine Yamal has opened up about losing the 2025 Ballon d'Or to former Barcelona teammate Ousmane Dembele
- The Frenchman was overcome with emotion after edging out Lamine Yamal to claim the 2025 Ballon d’Or
- The 28-year-old scored 35 goals and provided 14 assists in 53 matches as PSG completed a historic treble
Lamine Yamal has broken his silence with a message to Ousmane Dembélé after the 2025 Ballon d'Or ceremony at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on Monday night.
The 28-year-old first-time winner pipped Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal, teammate Vitinha and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah to the prestigious accolade, becoming the second French winner in four years after Karim Benzema's success in 2022.
Source: Getty Images
Dembélé has now become just the second PSG player, after Lionel Messi in 2021, to lift the coveted golden trophy, reaching a career peak that once seemed out of reach during his injury-hit spell at Barcelona, per ESPN.
The former Borussia Dortmund star was instrumental in PSG’s historic Champions League triumph, racking up 14 goal contributions in 15 games, eight goals and six assists, and directly influencing every match from the round of 16 second leg onwards.
His decisive moments included the winning strike in the semi-final first leg against Arsenal and two assists in the emphatic 5-0 final victory over Inter Milan, performances that earned him the tournament’s Player of the Season award.
Check out Dembele's statistics in the 2024/25 campaign:
Sport Bible suggests the French winger won the vote with ease, finishing ahead of Yamal, while their Parisian teammate Vitinha secured third place.
"This is an award thanks to the collective. I want to thank all my teammates," Dembele said during his acceptance speech.
He added:
"I want to thank my hometown Eure. Every time I get the chance I go back. The people in my neighbourhood helped me to this moment."
Source: Twitter
Although the ex-Barcelona winger missed out on becoming the youngest Ballon d'Or winner in history, Yamal still made his mark by clinching back-to-back KOPA trophies.
The 18-year-old later took to social media to share a message for Dembélé, just months after previously calling him out ahead of their Nations League semi-final showdown.
On Instagram, Yamal wrote:
“God’s plan is perfect, you have to climb to get to the top. Happy for the Kopa Trophy x2 and congratulations to Dembele for the award and his great season."
Check out Yamal's post on social media:
While accepting the KOPA trophy ahead of the Ballon d’Or announcement, Yamal confessed that he wasn’t certain he was ready to claim the ultimate crown.
“I don’t know if I’m ready for the big trophy! Maybe we’ll see each other later," he joked.
Yamal’s second-place finish makes him the youngest player ever to be named Ballon d’Or runner-up, surpassing Ronaldo Nazario, who was 20 when he achieved the feat in 1996.
The Spaniard wasn’t the only Barcelona player in the top ten, as Raphinha finished fifth, a result that reportedly left his Brazil teammate Neymar Jr. unhappy.
Dembele breaks down after winning Ballon d'Or
In a related report, YEN.com.gh highlighted how Ousmane Dembélé was visibly emotional after edging Lamine Yamal to claim the 2025 Ballon d’Or.
The 28-year-old forward expressed his gratitude by dedicating the prestigious honour to the entire PSG family.
Source: YEN.com.gh
