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Luis Figo has named a player who could challenge Lamine Yamal and Ousmane Dembele for the 2025 Ballon d'Or. The former Real Madrid and Barcelona forward picked Vitinha as a dark horse for the award this year.
The 2025 Ballon d'Or ceremony is set to take place in September in Paris this year. Lamine Yamal and Ousmane Dembele have emerged as two of the top candidates. While Yamal won a domestic treble with Barcelona, Dembele won a quadruple with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
Sharing his thoughts on this year's contenders, the 2000 Ballon d'Or winner said (via Sport Bible):
"There are several players who deserve the trophy based on their season. My opinion is irrelevant; the person voting is the one who decides. But I like players like Lamine; Vitinha, who has won everything this season; Dembélé, who has done very well too… It depends on whether you're looking at individual performance for the Ballon d'Or or the titles you've won."
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"It depends on personal taste and what you focus on when awarding this important award. Nothing outside of what people talk about."
When asked if Vitinha could be a dark horse for the award, Figo said:
"He's on the list. He has a chance of winning, but, as I said, it depends on who votes and, of course, what you focus on during the season."
Vitinha played a huge role in PSG's success under Luis Enrique, recording eight goals and four assists in 55 games across competitions.
Cristiano Ronaldo had also named Vitinha with Yamal and Dembele as contenders for 2025 Ballon d'Or
Spain faced Portugal in the UEFA Nations League final on June 8. Ahead of the game, Cristiano Ronaldo was asked for his take on the 2025 Ballon d'Or. He said (via Sport Bible):
“The individual awards have lost some consensus; I can’t say anything about who should win. In my opinion, those who stand out and win the Champions League should win.”
"But there is no consensus. I don’t believe much in individual awards because I know what goes on behind the scenes. Lamine could win, like Dembele or Vitinha, other emerging players, but individual awards are irrelevant.”
Dembele registered 33 goals and 15 assists in 49 games across competitions for PSG in the 2024-25 season. Meanwhile, Yamal scored 18 goals and provided 25 assists in 55 games across competitions for Barcelona.
