After an exceptional season, crowned by the Champions League, the striker of the PSG Ousmane Dembélé appears as the great favorite to Golden Ball which will be delivered on Monday in Paris, and only the young Spanish prodigy Lamine Yamal The prestigious prize seems to play to the French.
From 19h30 local (17h30 GMT), players and personalities of the world of football will parade through the red carpet at the Châtelet Theater, stage in the last years of the Golden Ball gala, before many television cameras and photographers.
A few hours later, the name of the footballer will be announced that will happen in El Palmarés to Spanish Rodri Hernández, winner of the Male Golden Ball in 2024, an award based on the qualifications that give a centenary of sports journalists around the world.
Trophies against talent
The favorite, according to the bets, is Dembélé, who last season, after the march of Kylian Mbappé to Real Madrid, was erected in the leader of a Paris SG who won all possible titles, except the novel Club World Cup, where Chelsea left the Parisian club without a perfect season.
If the forecasts are confirmed, Dembélé would be the sixth French soccer player to achieve the Golden Ball, three years after Karim Benzema, who succeeded in the first edition in which the award was given taking into account a sports season and not the calendar year as it had happened until then.
If Dembélé seems to be in full sports maturity at 28, his main rival for the award is a ten -year -old Lamine Yamal and that overflows talent.
Being a minor he already led the Spanish team to the title of the Eurocup 2024, but last season it was the confirmation for the young Barcelona, who spread talent both in the stadiums throughout Spain and in Europe, as for example in the semifinal against Inter, despite the fact that it was the Italians who got into the final.
Although Yamal will stay this Monday without a prize, his coach Hansi Flick put voice to what many analysts think: “One day we will see Lamine win the Golden Ball.”
Even those that are convinced that it will not be one, although it is very difficult for the young talent to reach the numbers of Lionel Messi (winner seven times of the award) and Cristiano Ronaldo (five).
PSG and Real Madrid absent
While Dembélé expects the decision of France Football, the French magazine granted by the award, his PSG teammates will be playing the classic against Marseille that could not be played on Sunday night for the threat of storms.
Fruit of its historic season, with the Triplet Champions, League and Cup, the Paris SG has nine players in the list of 30 Golden Ball nominees.
They are Desiré Doué, Achraf Hakimi, Khvicha Kvarathskhelia, Nuno Mendes, Joao Neves, Fabián Ruiz, Vitinha and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who now defends the Manchester City arch.
In Paris they have tried that the votes are not divided between the different players and have promoted Dembélé’s candidacy: “Ousmane Golden Ball!” The Parisian coach Luis Enrique emphasized at a press conference last Saturday.
“If you don’t win it, there is a problem,” President Nasser Al-Khelaifi insisted.
One of the criteria for awarding the award is also the “Fair-Play” and in this aspect it also seems that Dembélé gets Yamal: to the French, shy and reserved, he is not known controversies outside the courts, while the young Spanish received many criticisms for his ostentatious birthday party, which included the hiring of dwarves to set the party.
However, many remember what happened exactly one year ago, when the Brazilian Vinicius was the great favorite to the award after his fantastic season at Real Madrid … and the award went to Rodri.
Who will happen to Aitana?
That caused Real Madrid, upon learning hours before his player was not awarded, boycotting the gala and did not send any representative.
Nor this Monday will be representatives of the White Club at the Châtelet Theater, sources from the event organization confirmed to the AFP.
On this occasion, the White Club also has the excuse that on Tuesday LaLiga’s leader faces Levante.
The Male Golden Ball will be the climax of a gala in which numerous awards will be awarded, including the best player of the season and whose result is even more undecided.
Aitana Bonmatí (Women’s Golden Ball in 2023 and 2024) is probably the best player on the planet, with permission from her partner Alexia Putellas (who won the award in 2021 and 2022), but the two Spanish players have the competition of soccer players such as Alessia Russia, Leah Williamson or Chloe Kelly, which in addition to winning the Eurocup with England to Spain, They defeated Barcelona in the final of the last. Champions
For the first time, the ceremony will have female equivalents in all awards granted to male football.
