Vincent Garcia, editor-in-chief of France Football, revealed that Ousmane Dembélé secured first place in the 2025 Ballon d’Or with no significant competition from Lamine Yamal or anyone else.
The French star was crowned winner of the award on Monday at a grand ceremony held at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, becoming the sixth Frenchman in history to win the Ballon d’Or.
The Ballon d’Or is based on the votes of 100 journalists from around the world, and the player with the most points wins the prestigious award.
Barcelona star Lamine Yamal came in second, but Garcia insists he was far behind Dembélé in the journalists’ choices.
“There was no competition,” Garcia said after the ceremony. “To be honest, Dembélé won by a landslide. He won by a large margin.”
He added, “He received great support from the jury. He deservedly won the Ballon d’Or. There was no distortion in the votes due to the presence of more than one Paris Saint-Germain player.”
He concluded, “Vitinha and Achraf Hakimi finished first more than once among some voters, but their number was small. Dembélé won by a large margin across all continents. It’s a well-deserved Ballon d’Or.”
Vitinha finished third, Mohamed Salah fourth, Rafinha fifth, and Achraf Hakimi sixth.
