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Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright questioned the voting process behind the Ballon d'Or, claiming that the wrong person was given the trophy this season. Barcelona's Aitana Bonmati lifted the 2025 edition of the prestigious prize, beating Arsenal's Mariona Caldentey, who Wright backed to win it.
Speaking on the Overlap YouTube channel, Wright said:
“Couldn’t believe it. I don’t think anyone is disputing how great Bonmati is but the season [Mariona] Caldentey had, not just because she’s at Arsenal, even Alessia Russo winning the Champions League and the Euros. You know what was so embarrassing about it? I actually felt for Bonmati, she had the trophy and they were showing videos of her losing the Champions League, losing the Euros. And you’ve got players like Caldentey, she won everything. She was Arsenal and WSL player of the year, the Champions League, all the way to the last stages of the Euros.
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Wright added:
“Without the shadow of a doubt [the Ballon d’Or is a bit of an image-based award]. There is a lot going on upstairs where you feel, ‘well that’s not right’. How can you honestly look at Bonmati this season? She hasn’t even had as good a season as Putellas. The same has happened with the men’s award down the years. The same happened with Thierry [Henry], he had 55 goal involvements and he was magnificent but Nedved won it [that year]. Nedved himself said, ‘this should be Thierry Henry’s’.
“The voting or whatever, it’s wrong. The right person is not getting the trophy. Simple as that.”
Bonmati made it a hat-trick of Ballon d'Or wins. She bagged 20 goals across all competitions as Barcelona won three domestic competitions. Caldentey, meanwhile, collected 19 goals last season and helped Arsenal beat La Blaugrana in the finals of the Champions League. The duo were also key to Spain's run to the finals of the 2025 Euros, where they lost to England.
La Liga chief opens up on why he thinks Barcelona star did not win Ballon d'Or
La Liga president Javier Tebas claimed that Lamine Yamal's age was the reason he did not win the Ballon d'Or. He finished the night as runner-up to PSG's Ousmane Dembele for the prestigious trophy.
Tebas said (via ESPN):
"If he had been older than 23, he would have won it, too, I'm sure, but since he was younger, they gave him the other one [Kopa trophy]," Tebas said.
Dembele had an extraordinary season for Les Parisiens, collecting 35 goals and 16 assists en route to the side winning a treble, including a stunning 5-0 win over Inter Milan in the Champions League final.
Yamal, on the other hand, bagged 18 goals as Barcelona managed a domestic treble but fell to the Nerazzurri in the semis of the Champions League. The 18-year-old lifted the Kopa Trophy for best young player.
