Paris Saint-Germain didn’t just crush Real Madrid — Ousmane Dembélé may have crushed the Ballon d’Or race too. With a dazzling display and a goal in a 4-0 demolition in the Club World Cup semifinal, the French winger took center stage and shifted the narrative decisively in his favor.
Even the Spanish press agrees. The Catalan daily Sport declared without hesitation:
“If there were still doubts, Dembélé erased them in 10 minutes. He is now the undisputed Ballon d’Or favorite!”
That’s no small statement from a paper usually keen on promoting Barça wonderkid Lamine Yamal. But even the teenage prodigy couldn’t match Dembélé’s impact on the global stage.
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Mbappé Out of the Race?
Kylian Mbappé, meanwhile, disappeared from the radar — ironically, in a match against his former club. AS and El Chiringuito didn’t hold back, describing him as off-pace and out of sync. “Not his night, not even close,” read one headline. For many, that performance marked the end of his 2025 Ballon d’Or hopes.
At the same time, Marca turned the spotlight to another key figure:
“This Ballon d’Or? It should go to Luis Enrique. Not Dembélé, not Yamal, not even Vitinha. The real star is the mastermind who built this unstoppable PSG machine.”
The Race Is Almost Over
Dembélé shines, Yamal stumbles, Mbappé disappears — and Luis Enrique earns plaudits as the true architect of PSG’s dominance. The Ballon d’Or decision will be made in a few months… but after New York, the outcome feels nearly inevitable.
Unless something dramatic happens between now and September, Dembélé’s name could already be etched on the trophy.
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