Lamine Yamal beats Mbappé to the ‘other’ Ballon d’Or

World football experienced one of its most anticipated nights this Monday with the presentation of the 2025 Ballon d’Or. The official award, presented by France Football, went to PSG forward Ousmane Dembélé, who enjoyed a brilliant year both individually and collectively.

Yet, at the same time, the International Center for Sports Studies (CIES) released a ranking that challenges the French verdict: its top spot went to 18-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona.

The CIES Football Observatory compiled a ranking of the world’s 100 best players using a purely statistical methodology. Its system evaluates outfield players’ performance over the past year across six key areas—aerial play, build-up play, defensive duels, assists, shots, dribbling, and passing in the opponent’s half—while also taking into account the competitive context of their teams and results.

The outcome was striking: Lamine Yamal leads the list with a perfect score of 100.0, surpassing established stars such as Kylian Mbappé (98.6) and his teammate Pedri González (97.5). Meanwhile, the “real Ballon d’Or” winner, Dembélé, ranks only seventh, behind even Michael Olise (Bayern Munich) and Mohamed Salah (Liverpool).

The contrast is clear. While France Football named Dembélé the best footballer on the planet, CIES highlighted the youthful and precocious talent of Lamine Yamal, who is already rubbing shoulders with the greats and has proven to be a key player for both Barça and the Spanish national team.

The statistical top 10 also includes Virgil van Dijk (4th), Achraf Hakimi (9th), and Vinícius Jr. (10th). Established stars like Salah (6th) and Joshua Kimmich (8th) make appearances as well, though the absence of Dembélé from the top ranks remains surprising.

In contrast, the official Ballon d’Or 2025 ranking painted a different picture: after Dembélé, Lamine Yamal took second place, while Portuguese midfielder Vitinha completed the podium. Mohamed Salah (4th) and Raphinha (5th) rounded out the top five. Notable were the placements of Pedri (11th) and Vinícius Jr. (16th).

Which carries more weight: the historical prestige of France Football or the cold, hard data of the CIES? While Dembélé celebrates his first official Ballon d’Or, Lamine Yamal can already claim the “other Ballon d’Or”—the one dictated by statistics, the one that quantifies a talent poised to make history.