The Digest:
La Liga president Javier Tebas has claimed that Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal lost the 2025 Ballon d’Or to Ousmane Dembélé primarily due to his youth, suggesting the 18-year-old would have won if he were older. Despite Yamal’s exceptional season, winning La Liga and Euro 2024, Dembélé’s UEFA Champions League triumph with PSG ultimately swayed voters.
Key Points:
- Tebas stated Yamal would have won if he were over 23 years old.
- Yamal finished as runner-up but retained the Kopa Trophy for best young player.
- Barcelona president Joan Laporta credited Dembélé’s Champions League victory as decisive.
- Yamal won a domestic treble and Euro 2024 with Spain last season.
- Tebas expressed confidence that Yamal will eventually win the Ballon d’Or.
- The teenager has already secured back-to-back Kopa Trophy awards.
- Dembélé’s treble-winning campaign with PSG earned him the top prize.
- Yamal’s father previously called his son’s second-place finish “strange.”
Sources: Pulse Sports
