LaLiga chief Javier Tebas believes Ballon d'Or race should be between Barcelona's Lamine Yamal and Real Madrid superstar

LaLiga chief Javier Tebas believes this year's Ballon d'Or race should be between Barcelona's Lamine Yamal and Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior. The two superstars of modern football have caught the eye once again this season.

Yamal has been outstanding for the Catalans, registering 18 goals and 25 assists from 55 games across competitions. His efforts were key to Barcelona's domestic treble-winning campaign.

Vinicius, meanwhile, was also impressive for Real Madrid this season, scoring 21 goals and setting up 18 more from 52 games in all competitions. However, his efforts weren't enough for Los Blancos to win the league or make a mark in the Champions League.

Real Madrid, though, did win the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup in the 2024-25 season. Many, though, would suggest that Vinicius Jr was overshadowed by Kylian Mbappe, who registered 43 goals from 56 games in his debut campaign.

However, speaking recently as cited by AS, Tebas insisted that Vinicius and Yamal are the main contenders for this year's Ballon d'Or race.

“It’s difficult. It should be between Lamine and Vinicius,” said Tebas.

Interestingly, Barcelona's Raphinha is also among the contenders for the 2025 Ballon d'Or award. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward Ousmane Dembele is in the race as well, after helping his team secure a historic treble. Vinicius, meanwhile, famously finished second behind Manchester City's Rodri in last year's race.

How many players from Barcelona and Real Madrid have won the Ballon d'Or?

Barcelona and Real Madrid are the clubs with the joint-most Ballon d'Or wins in the history of the awards. Eight Los Blancos players have won the award 12 times so far.

The list includes Cristiano Ronaldo, who registered four of his five wins after moving to the Santiago Bernabeu from Manchester United. Other Real Madrid players who have also lifted the coveted award are Alfredo Di Stefano (2), Raymond Kopa, Luis Figo, Ronaldo Nazario, Fabio Cannavaro, Luka Modric, and Karim Benzema.

Meanwhile, six players representing the Catalans have won the Ballon d'Or a total of 12 times. Lionel Messi famously won the award six times at Camp Nou, before also lifting it with PSG and Inter Miami.

Luis Suarez was the first Barcelona player to win the coveted prize in 1960, while Johan Cruyff won it in 1973 and 1974. Hristo Stoichkov, Rivaldo, and Ronaldinho are other big names who won the top individual prize during their stint at Camp Nou.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written over 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered close to 20 million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Aditya Singh