1) Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) – 106.63 points
Lamine Yamal is the chosen one the world of football has been desperately yearning for since Lionel Messi’s departure from Europe. With maturity beyond his years, the 17-year-old La Masia academy graduate, in the 24/25 season, stunned the globe with 8 goals and 13 assists in 29 starts to secure his second La Liga crown, the same total Cristiano Ronaldo managed in nine years at Madrid. His campaign has however been best adorned by a stellar UEFA Champions League campaign that was far more spectacular than his miserly 7 goal contributions.
A wunderkind “baptised” by the greatest left-footed player himself, Yamal formally announced himself to the world with a Lionel-esque solo run and finish against the UCL’s meanest defence, Inter Milan, to drag his team away from the snapping jaws of a home defeat. He is now the youngest player ever to score in a semi-final tie in the UEFA Champions League.
If Yamal’s first leg performance was sensational, then his showing in the second leg was an absolute all-timer, with a large majority of fans dubbing it the “best performance ever without a goal or assist.”
The teenager completed 14 dribbles, just one short of Messi’s and Zanetti’s Champions League record, and forced Yan Sommer into five world-class saves. Yamal danced like a boy possessed, with Inter’s squad of grown men (average age of 30.2 yrs) having to foul him seven times to contain him.
Behind only the ageless Salah in terms of creativity in Europe (based on number of assists), Lamine has been Barcelona’s propeller this season, completing the most through balls across all of the continent’s big five leagues.
Barcelona’s right flank corridor has been totally ignited by his presence, as he has completed the most dribbles across the entire universe this season, and has most notably set the footballing world alight with his trademark trivela passes.
With his magnificent performance in the Copa Del Rey final, Yamal has now scored or assisted in every final he started in throughout his career. The youngster ended the tournament with the most assists and 7 goal contributions, the second most in the tournament. He is now well-positioned to become football’s first teenage Ballon d’Or winner.
While the harsh reality of the Ballon d’Or is that potential cannot be traded for instant honours, Lamine Yamal has broken this ceiling with a remarkable ability that has not just put him on the Ballon d’Or shortlist, but has also seen him usurp Raphinha as the new frontrunner in the eyes of many sports afficionados.
Yamal has navigated the spikier rungs of the Ballon d’Or ladder with relative ease, and now has crowned his impressive efforts with a domestic treble.
2) Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain) – 106.29 points
Once referred to as the “glass man” and “two-footed wild card,” Ousmane Dembélé has now emerged as the central core for Paris Saint-Germain and was the first “league champion” among Ballon d’Or contenders in 2025.
The Frenchman guided PSG to lock down the league title six rounds ahead of schedule with career-best figures of 21 goals and five assists in 28, winning the top scorer award and contributing to the most goals in Ligue 1.
His goal efficiency of a goal every 73 minutes is the best in the big five European leagues, in addition to his eight goals and four assists in 14 games in the Champions League.
Ousmane Dembélé ranks in the top 5 in Ligue 1 for:
- goals scored,
- chances created
- total shots on target,
- total goal contributions,
- goal per shot,
- passes into penalty area,
- progressive carries, and
- points per match.
He also overperforms on his XG by 6 goals, the 6th highest in Europe’s big five leagues.
Dembélé has been totally awakened by Enrique’s tactical revolution, allowing him a free front line role to regularly interchange with the equally amazing Kvaratskhelia. This has resulted in him scoring the most goals in Europe’s big five leagues in 2025.
Dembélé was pivotal in PSG’s seamless dispatch of English dark horse, Aston Villa, recording an assist in both legs of the Champions League quarterfinal tie.
He then rose up to his biggest challenge yet, scoring and assisting both home and away against England’s most well-drilled team in Arsenal. This was despite managing only 90 minutes of action across both fixtures due to an hamstring injury.
In addition to this, Dembélé also posted impressive performances in the earlier stages of the Champions League against English boys Manchester City and Liverpool.
Although the light weight of the Ligue 1 trophy has not helped him shake off the tailgating blinders of the chasing pack, Dembélé is still well-placed for an unprecedented Ballon d’Or win, as he is the only pick of the major contenders in 2025 with the chance of a treble.
Regardless of his performance for the rest of the season, Dembélé will win the 2025 Ballon d’Or if PSG out-muscles Inter Milan to Europe’s top prize.
3) Raphinha (Barcelona) – 111.83 points
Raphinha’s incredible 24/25 season is the ideal mix of time, circumstances, and teamwork. The Brazilian winger has been handed a new tactical role since Hans Flick took over Barcelona—from a conventional wide playmaker to an attacking core engaged in both organisation and finishing. This tweak has completely unleashed his full all-around abilities.
Raphinha contributed 18 goals and 9 assists to secure the La Liga trophy for Barcelona in 34 games. He also finished atop the Champions League g/a chart with a terrific efficiency of 13 goals and 8 assists, matching Ronaldo’s Champions League record of 21 goal contributions in 2013/14.
Raphinha has cast his footprint in the sands of Champions League history by becoming the first ever player to win the golden boot and top the assist charts.
His offensive involvement has been exceptional, ranking in the 98th percentile across Europe for non-penalty expected goals (npxG), while his expected assists (xAG) reach the 99th percentile, demonstrating that he is not only a finisher but also an engine for chance creation.
Raphinha’s ascent is intricately intertwined with his influence in big games. He etched his name into El Clásico by scoring twice against Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final, and his hat-trick against Bayern Munich in the Champions League group stage totally broke the ‘Barça fear of Germany’ curse.
Real Madrid have lost four times to Barcelona this season conceding 16 goals, and Raphinha has been directly involved in seven of those goals. His two-goal classic display in Barça’s 4-3 win in the last El Clásico of the season was technically the performance that handed Blaugrana their 28th La Liga title.
His three goal contributions in the first leg against Dortmund was the deciding factor that facilitated Barcelona’s qualification for the semis, while his “brace” against Inter Milan (although the second was awarded an own goal) saw him follow the very path treaded by footballing genius in the past to court the Ballon d’Or.
More crucially, Raphinha’s creativity has become Barcelona’s lifeline, ranking in the top five in Europe’s Top 5 leagues for chance creation.
Barcelona reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, have won La Liga with three games to spare, and are Copa del Rey winners.
Thus, thanks to this momentum in three competitions, Raphinha’s Ballon d’Or path is built on a strong foundation.
Despite Yamal’s more catchy performances, the Brazilian is the odds-on favourite for the 2025 Ballon d’Or and backs these shouts with strong numbers. Raphinha ranks in top five in La Liga for the following metrics:
- goals scored,
- assists provided,
- chances created,
- total shots on target,
- total goal contributions,
- goal per shot,
- successful dribbles
- passes into penalty area, and
- crosses.
4) Pedri (Barcelona) – 92.93 points
Though not entirely nurtured at the academy, Pedri is the soul representing La Masia’s resurrection, and his similarities to Iniesta are a silent nod to the legacy of Barça. With 4 goals and 4 assists (La Liga), 2 assists (Champions League), and an average of 1.7 key passes per game, the 22-year-old midfield maestro declared in the 2024–25 season his transition from “brittle man” to “iron man”.
His 89% passing success rate and six chances created versus Benfica in the Champions League have restored the glory of the Dream Team to Hans Flick’s high-pressing possession style.
More important, however, is the fact that Pedri has essentially overcome physical issues, missing only 1 game all season.
The Spanish International’s 2025 has been characterised by creativity, endurance, and decisiveness. Still, Pedri’s performances this season have not been as outstanding as popular belief, with stats across every statistic falling much below Ballon d’Or levels.
Although he made the biggest impact yet in the Copa Del Rey final by opening the torrents of a five-goal thriller, Pedri needs more key moments.
Notwithstanding, thanks to his key role in a domestic treble-winning season for giants like Barcelona, Pedri remains the cynosure of all eyes. The La Liga title race is getting heated, the Champions League quarterfinal versus Inter Milan is approaching, and the Copa del Rey is already in the trophy cabinet.
Should Pedri match Iniesta’s MVP performance in the 2015 Champions League final, a top five Ballon d’Or slot will be guaranteed.
5) Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) – 96.05 points
Time feels especially kind to Salah at Anfield. With an apparently ageless style, the 31-year-old Egyptian sensation keeps penning his own legend in the Premier League. In just 36 games, Salah has delivered a seemingly impossible 28 goals and 18 assists, ranking highest on both the goalscoring and assists chart. He is also on track to break Henry’s and De Bruyne’s joint legendary record of 20 assists in a single season.
Mohamed Salah has both scored the most goals in Europe’s big five leagues and provided the most assists, in a two-way efficiency remeniscent of serial Ballon d’Or winner, Lionel Messi.
With the Liverpool star scoring or assisting in 86.2% of league games this season, the highest ratio among players in Europe with 20 or more appearances, Salah’s season precisely combines efficiency and stability.
However, his stats of 3 goals and 4 assists in 9 UCL games seem a little lacking, especially given the Egyptian’s no-show in the round of 16 loss to Paris Saint-Germain.
Despite the UCL exit, the “Reds” are champions of England, with the sheer weight of this valuable trophy giving the Egyptian pharaoh slim hopes of top 3 Ballon d’Or podium finish.
