The Race for the Ballon d’Or – Can Anyone Stop Raphinha?
In September, journalists from the Top 100 FIFA ranked countries will be asked by France Football to vote for the player they believe has had the best individual 2024-25 season. The player with the most votes will be presented with the famous Ballon d’Or trophy at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on Monday, 27th October.
The bookmakers – including Stake, who are offering a new sign-up Stake bonus – all seem to agree that Barcelona forward Raphinha is the frontrunner to win the accolade. Are they right to so heavily back the Brazilian? Could someone else take the trophy out from under his nose?
Read on to find out as we profile and analyse the chances of the 5 Ballon d’Or favourites…
5.Lamine Yamal
Spain’s golden boy has been in superb form for high-flying Barcelona this season and has been a major beneficiary of Hansi Flick’s high-octane style of football. At the time of writing he has made 34 appearances for Barcelona in La Liga and the Champions League.
In those games he has made 23 goal contributions, finding the back of the net 9 times and assisting others on 14 occasions. Beyond the statistics though, he has proved a constant thorn in the side of his opponents to create overloads and space for his teammates.
The 17-year-old has also produced a number of breath-taking moments of skill, such as this insane outside of the foot assist to the man of the moment, Raphinha.
4.Ousmane Dembele
12 months ago, the idea that Ousmane Dembele would be included in the Ballon d’Or discussion would have sounded absurd. Traditionally Dembele has been seen as somewhat of a profligate player, yet this season he has been anything but.
In his 24 Ligue 1 appearances thus far he has scored 21 goals from an xG of 14.78, chipping in with 5 assists along the way. In Europe, where PSG have faced far sterner opposition, Dembele has matched his xG, scoring 7 times in 10 appearances.
His last European goal came at Anfield where he played his part in overturning his team’s desperately unlucky 1-0 deficit from the first leg. Not only did he score in that game, but he was arguably the star player of the tie.
If he keeps this form up, he will be a serious contender to Raphinha for the Ballon d’Or.
3.Mohamed Salah
Statistically Mo Salah has been one of the best players in Europe this season. Domestically he has scored 27 goals in 29 games whilst racking up an incredible 17 assists. Those numbers fall off quite a bit in Europe though, where he has managed just 3 goals and 4 assists in 9 appearances.
That differential in stats highlights just why Mo Salah will find it hard to win the Ballon d’Or in October. Contrary to the ‘best league in the world’ rhetoric that Sky Sports serve up every week, opinions of the Premier League from abroad are quite different.
Premier League players have consistently struggled to win the Ballon d’Or. The differences between the haves and the have-nots in England, mean that many from outside the country view it as a Farmer’s League. Salah’s incredibly domestic performances in contrast to his average European ones might just solidify that opinion in the mind of the Ballon d’Or judges.
2.Kylian Mbappe
It took Carlo Ancelotti and many of Real Madrid’s player’s time to adjust to the presence of their new talismanic French striker this season. Yet even in those moments of unfamiliarity and awkwardness, Mbappe still managed to find the back of the net and win points for Los Blancos.
In recent months Mbappe’s form has improved along with that of his team. With just a couple of months remaining of the season, it’s feasible that he could lift La Liga and the Champions League in his first full season in the Spanish capital.
If he does that and maintains his current form, Raphinha doesn’t stand a chance in the Ballon d’Or running.
1.Raphinha
The current bookmaker’s favourite has notched 24 goals and 13 assists in the league and in Europe this season. On top of that he has been his team’s talisman, which is no mean feat considering the wealth of talent at Barcelona this season.
The stats aren’t what makes Raphinha stand out though - in those terms he lags behind the likes of Mbappe and Salah in goals – rather it is his overall contribution to the team and his propensity to show up in big moments.
He notched twice in the Spanish Supercup final demolition of Real Madrid back in January and came up with a goal and an assist in the 4-0 dismantling of Los Blancos back in October. To guarantee he gets his hands on the Ballon d’Or though, Raphinha needs to make sure that Barcelona win something this season
24.04.2025