'Clear and unambiguous!' - Ousmane Dembele beat Lamine Yamal to 2025 Ballon d'Or by 'wide margin', confirms France Football editor-in-chief

The 2024-25 campaign proved to be the best season in Dembele's career so far as he won the Ballon d'Or for the first time after leading PSG to a treble. The French giants won every major trophy on offer, except for the Club World Cup, while the Frenchman scored 35 goals across all competitions and provided 16 assists. Yamal also shone with Barcelona as Hansi Flick's side bagged three domestic trophies, but the teenager missed out on the Golden Ball in the end.

Garcia, who is in charge of the France Football organisation that presents the Ballon d'Or every year, has clarified that the final vote was not close this time around, with Dembele the "clear" winner. He said after the ceremony: "There was no match. Ousmane won it by a wide margin. On all continents, Ousmane Dembele's Ballon d'Or is clear and straightforward. It's a Ballon d'Or that is authoritative for our judges."

Following his son's defeat in Paris, Yamal's father Mounir Nasraoui stirred up controversy by branding Dembele’s Ballon d’Or win as the “greatest moral harm” in football. He further claimed that Yamal was "by far the best player in the world" last season. 

Dembele missed PSG's rescheduled Ligue 1 fixture at Marseille on Monday as he is yet to recover from the injury that he sustained during the international break, but the winger is hoping to feature for Luis Enrique's side in their next outing against Auxerre on Saturday. Yamal, meanwhile, is also working his way back from injury and may not be ready to feature when Barca take on Oviedo on Thursday in La Liga.