Dembele expects Yamal to win 'several' Ballons d'Or

Ousmane Dembele has backed Lamine Yamal to win "several Ballon d'Or awards" after beating the Barcelona youngster to the trophy.

The France international became just the second Paris Saint-Germain player to scoop the Ballon d'Or, following in the footsteps of eight-time winner Lionel Messi.

Dembele enjoyed an incredible season with PSG in 2024-25, clinching four major honours, including the club's maiden Champions League triumph.

He has registered 53 goal contributions (37 goals, 16 assists) since the start of last season across all competitions, which also includes games at the Club World Cup.

Dembele particularly stood out en route to their Champions League victory, though, scoring eight goals and providing six assists in the competition, the second-most goal involvements by a French player in a single season after Karim Benzema (17 in 2021-22).

According to French Football chief editor Vincent Garcia, Dembele won the award by a "wide margin" ahead of Yamal, but the 28-year-old believes the teenager's time will come.

"Lamine Yamal is an exceptional young man," Dembele said.

"A wonderful player with great maturity. I think if all the planets align, I believe he will win several Ballon d'Or awards."

Yamal has recorded 26 goal involvements since the start of 2024-25 and tops the charts across Europe's top five leagues for attempted (494) and completed (262) dribbles.

And, at 17 years and 291 days old, he became the youngest ever scorer in a Champions League semi-final during their first-leg thriller with Inter, surpassing Kylian Mbappe's previous record of 18 years and 140 days.

He did scoop one of the major prizes, becoming the first male player to win the Kopa Award in back-to-back years, but following the ceremony, Yamal's father, Mounir Nasraou, was frustrated that his son did not receive the top award.

"I think this is the biggest, I won't say theft, but moral damage done to a human being, because I believe Lamine Yamal is the best player in the world by far, by a huge margin," Nasraou told El Chiringuito TV after the event.

"It's not because he's my son but because he's the best player in the world. I believe there are no rivals.

"Lamine is Lamine Yamal. Something very strange has happened here. Next year, there will be a Spanish Ballon d'Or winner."