The winner of the 2025 Ballon d'Or was officially announced at the awards ceremony, with Paris Saint-Germain winger Ousmane Dembélé claiming the prestigious trophy. Luis Ronaldo, editor-in-chief of Spanish media outlet As, shared his views on the selection trend of this year's Ballon d'Or through his personal column. He pointed out that Dembélé's victory was well-deserved, but at the same time criticized that the Ballon d'Or has clearly shown a tendency to favor FC Barcelona and snub Real Madrid over the past two editions.
The suspense surrounding this year's Ballon d'Or has finally come to an end, as French forward Ousmane Dembélé of Paris Saint-Germain successfully lifted the trophy. Thanks to his outstanding performances for PSG—including leading the team to win the UEFA Champions League and being named the tournament's Most Valuable Player—his victory is well-justified, and most fans will agree that he deserves the award.
Although Barcelona forward Yamal missed out on the final Ballon d'Or title, the 18-year-old Spanish striker still claimed the Kopa Trophy (Best Young Player) once again, becoming the first player in history to defend this award consecutively. Despite being a top contender for the Ballon d'Or earlier, Yamal ultimately lost to Dembélé and finished as the runner-up. Judging from Yamal's development trajectory, as long as he continues to improve, he still stands a great chance of winning the Ballon d'Or in the future. However, if the top award had been given to him this year, it would have once again exposed the controversy that the Ballon d'Or deviates from the principle of “being well-deserved.”
At least historically, the Ballon d'Or has long been deeply "tinged with Spanish colors," which was originally a source of pride for Spanish football. But now, the credibility of this award is being questioned, and the core issue lies in the fact that the organizers' favoritism toward Barça has become undisguised in the last two selection processes.
While some award results at this year's Ballon d'Or ceremony were indeed reasonable—such as Yamal winning the Kopa Trophy and Vicky López claiming the Women's Kopa Trophy—the outcomes of other key awards seemed arbitrary and unfair. The winner of the Women's Ballon d'Or is a typical example: in terms of ability and achievements, Arsenal star Mariona Caldentey, as a Champions League winner, should have been a well-deserved recipient. Yet the award was once again given to FC Barcelona Femení midfielder Aitana Bonmatí. Although Bonmatí is highly talented, she has not reached her personal peak with either Barça or the Spanish national team. This result left most people stunned.
This partiality toward Barça is also accompanied by a deliberate snub of Real Madrid. This is particularly evident in the presentation of the "Best Striker of the Year" (Gerd Müller Trophy). The previous season's European Golden Shoe winner was French forward Kylian Mbappé, who scored 31 goals in La Liga and a total of 44 goals throughout the year. However, the award was inexplicably given to Viktor Gyökeres, who currently plays for Arsenal and previously played for Sporting CP.
In addition, France Football also shows a lack of respect for its own national players, and this attitude precisely reflects its exclusion of Real Madrid. A year ago, the Ballon d'Or was "taken away" from Vinícius Júnior—even though he helped Real Madrid win all major honors that season and delivered an outstanding personal performance. It is therefore understandable that Real Madrid now keeps a distance from the Ballon d'Or.
Interestingly, the selection of the FIFA Best Men's Player Award may yield a different result. This award has a more diverse voting structure: apart from 25% of the votes coming from journalists, the remaining votes are determined jointly by national team coaches, captains, and fans, which better reflects the collective consensus of the football community.
There is no denying that the Ballon d'Or trophy itself holds an irreplaceable symbolic significance and is a dream honor for every player. However, given the current selection mechanism, its results are inevitably subject to doubts from the outside world regarding the authenticity and credibility of the award. In the long run, it is indeed necessary for the organizers to reflect on and adjust the evaluation system.
