As the dust settles on another Ballon d'Or ceremony, Ousmane Dembele can reflect on being crowned the best player in the world, whilst others, such as Barcelona's Pedri and Bayern Munich's Harry Kane, might be wondering what they need to do just to make the top 10.
The 'Golden Ball' has long lost its lustre after years of accusations of lobbying, tactical voting and the like, and the criteria being taken into account when deciding upon the award would also appear to be something of a mystery to many.
What is the Ballon d'Or criteria?
Officially, there are three main areas that those with the ability to vote should abide by.
They are:
1. Individual performances, decisive and impressive character
2. Team performances and achievements
3. Class and fair play
That does still leave voting open to interpretation, whereas if points were awarded throughout the year based on an agreed set of metrics, there could simply be no argument as to who was the world's 'best player' for that year.
Last season's winner Rodri wasn't even nominated, which is the first time that's happened in the Ballon d'Or's entire history.
Even taking into account his injury concerns, that would still have been a seismic shock for many...
As was the omission of Pedri, who didn't make the top 10.
Just like his midfield predecessors Xavi and Andres Iniesta at Barcelona, he appears destined to never get his hands on this particular prize if 2025's voting was a guide, and that's difficult to process when one considers just how important he has been to the Catalan giants.
His 4,643 minutes played across all competitions last season were amongst the most of any player in the Barça squad, and of the mammoth 4,090 passes that he played in 2024/25, 3,647 of them were accurate, giving him a completion rate that didn't dip below 88.4% in any competition.
He also won possession back on 389 separate occasions and scored six goals as well as assisting for eight more, as Barcelona won the domestic treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.
Not to mention that they came within a whisker of knocking Inter out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage.
Raphinha's brilliant numbers
Club colleague Raphinha finished in fifth spot, and his claim on the big prize wasn't without merit either.
The joint-most-ever G/A contributions in the Champions League (21), tied with Cristiano Ronaldo, formed part of his output of 34 goals and 22 assists in all competitions in 2024/25.
He was decisive in several big games, including in the premier European competition and the Clasico clashes against a Real Madrid side with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr. and Jude Bellingham in situ.
Taking on the responsibility of the club captaincy in the absence of others, winning back possession on 142 occasions, as well as making 22 interceptions and taking part in almost 400 one-on-one duels, is remarkable for a winger.
Unlucky 13 for Kane despite first trophy
England captain Harry Kane, fresh from winning the first trophy of his career, might feel aggrieved at only being voted in at No. 13 in the list.
41 goals and 11 assists in his second season at Bayern helped the Bavarians to yet another Bundesliga title. A virtual guarantee of goals, his importance to his club side isn't in question, though there's a cogent argument that it takes a little more than that to place higher up the list.
Only making 20 tackles all season long, for example, isn't the greatest return from the 32-year-old.
Did the UCL tip the balance away from Lamine Yamal?
Lamine Yamal, at just 18 years of age, was in the running for the award with eventual winner Dembele and perhaps the fact that Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League on top of their domestic honours is what swung it the Frenchman's way.
Not always, but often, the Ballon d'Or winner is crowned shortly after his side has won the European trophy, though the way in which Lamine controlled games and did things not really seen on a football pitch since Lionel Messi was in his pomp, gave rise to his credible claims.
Numbers-wise, 18 goals and 21 assists, including some of the best strikes seen in the Champions League, were astonishing from the teenager, as were the 90 chances that he created.
Passing accuracy in and around 78-79% is perfectly acceptable for a player his age, though such are the lofty standards he's set himself and which are now expected, there's likely to be a degree of disappointment with that particular stat.
Like Raphinha on the opposite wing for Barcelona, the youngster also got through some decent defensive work, making 29 interceptions and winning the ball back on 207 separate occasions.
He can at least console himself with a first-ever back-to-back win in the Kopa Trophy, the award for the best young player in the world.
Is Dembele a worthy winner?
Ultimately, it wasn't enough for Lamine, and Dembele will look to his contributions in helping to win the Ligue 1 title, the French Cup, the French Supercup and the Champions League as a starting point for why he became another new name on the Ballon d'Or roster.
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35 goals and 13 assists in 53 games was a great return and were included in some very important games across the campaign.
An 83.2% pass completion in the French top-flight, often whilst at full tilt, deserves acclaim too.
When all is said and done, no one can genuinely say that Dembele didn't actually deserve to be crowned, so that tells you that the powers that be probably got the decision right in the end.
