For several weeks now, debates have been heating up around the 2025 Ballon d’Or. The award, which will be presented on September 22, seems to be contested in particular between Ousmane Dembélé (28-year-old forward for Paris Saint-Germain and the French national team) and Lamine Yamal (18-year-old forward for FC Barcelona and also a French international). Jules Koundé, 26-year-old defender for Barça and France, was asked this Wednesday in a press conference to give his verdict.
Koundé: “It’s not me who votes and there are arguments for both.”
“I’ve already answered this, but I’ll say it again: both deserve it. They’ve had an extraordinary season, with trophies to show for it. Being teammates with both, it’s difficult. It’s not me who votes and there are arguments for both. I’m very happy to be alongside Lamine, to see how he carries us. Ousmane has reached a sort of maturity, he’s playing his best football, with the stats to back it up. May the best man win,” he said, as reported by RMC Sport.
It’s clear that Koundé doesn’t want to upset anyone. He put on a nice balancing act here, complimenting both players — and rightly so — without seeming to lean toward either. As he himself pointed out, it was a tricky situation for him to be put in front of the media.
It’s almost a shame, since a player could simply give an opinion without it turning into a storm. After all, everyone is entitled to preferences in football. But when it comes to the Ballon d’Or, everything takes on an outsized dimension. All this for an individual award in a team sport.
Koundé doesn’t have a vote anyway, and the decision is already sealed. All that’s left is to wait for the result — which will surely spark debates for a while… until it’s time to think about the 2026 Ballon d’Or. Lovely.
