Article by Daniel Grigore – published on Saturday, April 12, 2025, 11:12 / Updated on Saturday, April 12, 2025 11:16
Half a year separates us from the moment we find the name of the next golden balloon. As the relevant voting season, 2024/2025, is approaching, the discussions regarding who should raise the prestigious individual trophy.
With 6 and a half months until the ceremony scheduled on October 27 in Paris, The Athletic, one of the most famous sports publications at international level, has formed a top 10 favorites for this season.
Not surprisingly, Raphinha from Barcelona runs the ranking. Here is the order and arguments made by the publication quoted to each of the footballers on the list.
Top 10 favorite at the Golden Ball 2025: Raphinha is the first, followed by Ousmane Dembele!
1. Raphinha (Barcelona, 28 years old): “Raphinha leads to Spain as a number of decisive contributions in all competitions, with 28 goals and 20 goals in 45 matches.
Few could have stipulated such a season for Brazilian, considering that 3 years ago the fight to avoid retrograde with Leeds but If Barcelona gets the historic triple, few would have arguments against granting the golden ball to Raphinha”.
19 decisive contributions(goals + assists) has Raphinha this season of the Champions League, thus equalizing the club record, established by Messi in 2011/2012
Raphinha, in duel with Andrei Rațiu // Photo: Imago Images
2. Ousmane Dembele (PSG, 27 years old): “He offered samples from his good years, but Dembele's game has finally has consistency. He scored 32 goals in 41 appearances for PSG, including 21 in 19 matches in 2025.
On the way to turn 28 next month, Dembele is one of the senior players in the PSG youth project, who finally bears fruit, with the team in the race for a historic triple, including a Ligue 1 in which they did not lose in the first 34 stages. “
Ousmane Dembele // Photo: Imago Images
3. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona, 17 years old): “The cult of Yamal seems to grow every week, as it comes with us tricks, while improving the ones I already knew. Any touch turns into gold. He scored 14 goals and offered 17 decisive passes for Barcelona this season, in addition to the Sost -Promotic goal for Spain in the League of Nations with the Netherlands ”.
Lamine Yamal is irresistible this season. It will turn 18 only on July 13! // Photo: Getty Images
4. Harry Kane (Bayern Munich, 31 years old): “Bundesliga is too easy for Kane. After scoring 36 goals in 2023/2024, the debut season in Bayern, has 23 now, which helped Bayern to have a 6-point advance at the top of the standings.
Vincent Kompany's band is also among the last 8 remaining in the Champions League, a competition in which Kane has scored 10 times in 12 appearances. He has scored twice for England in the matches of March ”.
Harry Kane // Photo: Imago
5. Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid, 26 years old): “Mbappe is approaching one of the best debut seasons ever succeeded by a Madrid striker, with 33 goals in 48 matches in all competition became the talisman of the team, taking the face of Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham”.
Kylian Mbappe / Photo: Gettyimages
6. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, 32 years old): “When your statistics are compared to those succeeded by Messi and Ronaldo, it is a sign that you have one of the best seasons in history. Salah has not” boiled “in the last month, but And so it has 44 decisive contributions (27 goals and 17 decisive passes) Only in the Premier League, with Liverpool about to win the title.
There will be no other trophies for them, but this is certainly one of the most great individual seasons successful on the English realm. “
Mohamed Salah signed the extension of the contract with Liverpool / Photo: Guliver / Gettyimages
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At the beginning of the year, Salah was a big favorite for the Golden Ball, but the early elimination of Liverpool from the Champions League and the England Cup, plus the failure of the League Cup final, went down to the list.
7. Alessandro Bastoni (Inter, 25 years old): “Bastoni was almost always present in the Inter -Historical Tripla team, with 3,193 minutes in all competitions, the largest number of all their field players. In addition to his defensive skill, he has on average the largest number of passes tried for 90 minutes, 76.6, of all central defenders.”
Alessandro Bastoni, in action against Bayern in the Champions League // Photo: Guliver/Gettyimages
8. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona, 36 years old): “After there were doubts about his future in Barcelona at the end of last season, Lewandowski led their attempt to conquer Tripla this season.
Is the only player in the Top 5 European Championships with 40 goals in all competitions and scored an almost unlikely number of 123 goals in 116 matches under Hansi Flick's command in 3 seasons with himat Bayern and now the boat ”.
Robert Lewandowski / Photo: Imago
9. Pedri (Barcelona, 22 years old): “It is understandable that the trio in the attack receives the most attention, but Barcelona's good game is generally leaving Pedri, their middle engine. It was the first whole season in which it was physical after 2019/2020 delivered good benefit over good performance, with excellent passes, continuous running,”.
Pedri, in action // Photo: Imago Images
10. Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid, 21 years old): “Bellingham was struggling to have Constanta from 2023/2024, his debut season at Real Madrid, but also he did 11 goals and 10 goals from the middle in 36 matches in La Liga and the Champions League.
Madrid was tormented to find his balance and The best moments of the attackers came when Bellingham pulled the efforts and made his famous late demarcations in the square”.
Jude Bellingham Failed to influence the Arsenal Tour as he wished / PHOTO IMAGO IMAGES
