“I see the game differently” - Pundit says he wouldn’t vote for Dembele as he picks 2025 Ballon d'Or winner

Football pundit Alejandro Moreno has said that he won't vote for Paris Saint-Germain winger Ousmane Dembele for this year's Ballon d'Or award. The Frenchman is coming off an outstanding 2024-25 season.

Dembele, 28, produced an impressive 51 goal contributions - scoring 35 and assisting 16 - in 53 games across competitions as PSG won their first UEFA Champions League title as a part of a rare continental quadruple.

Although Luis Enrique's side lost 3-0 to Chelsea in the new-look FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, they started the new season with a shootout win over Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Super Cup.

Nevertheless, Moreno said on ESPN FC that Barcelona's Lamine Yamal would be a more deserving Ballon d'Or winner. He added that Vitinha and not Dembele was PSG's best player last season, elaborating:

“If I were voting, I would vote for Lamine Yamal. Nothing against Ousmane Dembele. In all honesty, if I’m thinking about the best player from PSG, because they won Champions League, and we think of them as the most successful team last season, I would probably vote for Vitinha ahead of Dembele. I see the game differently, I guess.”

Dembele is off to a decent start to the season, registering two goals and as mny assists in four games across competitions.

Apart from Dembele, Yamal, Vitinha, Barcelona's Raphinha and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah are some of the strongest contenders for this year's Ballon d'Or. While Salah won the Premier League with the Reds, Yamal and Raphinha played key roles in Barca's domestic treble-winning campaign.

How 2025 Ballon d'Or contender Ousmane Dembele has fared for PSG?

PSG winger Ousmane Dembele is one of the strong contenders to win the prestigious Ballon d'Or this year. Since arriving from Barcelona in the summer of 2024, Dembele has had a successful stint at the Parc des Princes.

Ahead of his 100th game for the club, the Frenchman has accumulated 43 goals and 33 assists across competitions. He has won eight titles with his current side, including the aforementioned quadruple last season.

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Bhargav is a veteran sports journalist and editor at Sportskeeda, with a rich professional experience of 17 years, working for the likes of Siemens and Bombay Dyeing. An avid football and tennis follower for over three decades, Bhargav uses his vast knowledge and experience, attention to detail, an unbiased yet interesting writing style, and thorough research to craft insightful articles, which have raked in over 20 million reads so far.

Bhargav supports Italy at national level, a team steeped in tradition and history according to him. He still harbors the heartbreak from the Azzurri’s 1994 FIFA World Cup final defeat against Brazil, and protagonist-turned-antagonist from the game, ‘Divine Ponytail’ Roberto Baggio is his all-time favorite player. His favorite manager is Marcelo Lippi, who ended Italy’s 24-year wait for the World Cup trophy, winning it in 2006.

Outside Europe’s top five leagues, he follows the MLS following Lionel Messi’s move in 2023 but favors Cristiano Ronaldo in the G.O.A.T. debate. During his free time, Bhargav enjoys driving off to new places and singing.

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