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Former Barcelona centre-back Gerard Pique was recently asked to do a blind ranking of his 2025 Ballon d’Or favorites and the Spaniard placed three Barca players in his top three. Lamine Yamal, Pedri, and Raphinha made the top-three of Pique's Ballon d'Or favorites.
With less than four months to go until the 69th Ballon d’Or ceremony, the race for football’s most prestigious individual honor is heating up. Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah was the reported favorite in the middle of the season, but was later pipped by Barcelona winger Raphinha.
Following Paris Saint-Germain’s (PSG) UEFA Champions League triumph, Ousmane Dembele has emerged as a strong contender. However, many pundits and fans see Lamine Yamal as a favorite for the individual accolade.
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In a recent segment with DAZN Football, Gerard Pique was asked to blind rank his top six contenders for the 2025 Ballon d’Or. Raphinha’s name was mentioned first, and Pique put him in the third position. PSG midfielder Vitinha was next, who was placed in the fourth position. French superstar Kylian Mbappe followed, earning the fifth spot.
Barcelona midfielder Pedri was next on the list, and he received the second position in Pique’s ranking. La Masia graduate Lamine Yamal, whose performances have captured global attention, grabbed the top spot. Despite his Champions League success with Paris Saint-Germain, Ousmane Dembele was placed sixth in Pique’s list.
As per Sportskeeda’s latest Ballon d’Or rankings, Dembele is leading the race for the prize, while Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal is right behind him. The former won an unprecedented quadruple with PSG, while the latter won a domestic treble with Barcelona.
Barcelona star Lamine Yamal named “the best at his position” by Roberto Martinez but ranked below two Portuguese players in Ballon d’Or race
Portugal manager Roberto Martinez praised Lamine Yamal’s heroics this season, dubbing him the best player in his position. However, he ranked two of his players from the Portugal national team above the 17-year-old.
In a recent interview on COPE's El Partidazo, Martinez was effusive in his praise for Yamal, but he believes Vitinha and Nuno Mendes are more worthy candidates for this year’s Ballon d’Or. He said of Yamal:
"I don't know how you treat him. Lamine is the best at his position and has been very consistent. There is no talent who plays in his position and plays like that. We have to help him."
When asked about his favorites for the Ballon d’Or, Martinez replied:
"Vitinha and Nuno Mendes are far above the rest; at club level and because of their profile. Nuno Mendes, for me, is the best left-back I've ever seen. He can play on the outside and on the inside. He's very quick and has a good pass. I thought the perfect player didn't exist, and Nuno is very close to that."
Yamal ended the 2024-25 season with 43 goal contributions in 55 appearances across competitions for Barcelona.
