Ballon d'Or: 5 La Liga players that can compete with Messi and Ronaldo in the near future

#4 Ousmane Dembélé (FC Barcelona)

The fleet-footed tyro may soon have the world at his feet

With pace to burn, dribbling skills for days and an unpredictability that always leaves defenders guessing, Dembélé is one of the most promising young talents of the current U-25 generation.

The youngster’s ascent to the pinnacle of football has been nothing short of rapid and it seems to be a journey that is set to culminate in being crowned the world’s premier footballer.

Amazingly, this is just his third full season as a professional footballer and there is a sense around the young man that his ceiling will approach that of the very best child prodigies who have gone on to become leading world-class talents.

Ever since he made his debut for French club side; Rennes in 2015, Ligue 1 observers had begun to sing the praises of the skinny lad who was leaving experienced defenders trailing in his wake.

In his first season as a professional footballer, he hit 12 goals and instantly became one of the continent's hottest properties. A host of clubs expectedly came for his services but he was smart enough to choose Borussia Dortmund; a team noted for its excellence in developing young players.

Dembélé continued his upward trajectory in the Bundesliga and following Neymar's world-record move to PSG, FC Barcelona moved for the youngster. While his first season in La Liga was punctuated by a terrible injury, the kid has shown enough to suggest that his "potential world-class" tag isn't just idle talk.

It remains to be seen how effective he will be operating under the shadow of more illustrious colleagues at both club (Messi, Luis Suarez, and others) and national level (Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba et al) but one thing is sure, this kid has everything it takes to become a Ballon d'Or winner in the nearest future.