Lamine Yamal handed Ballon d’Or boost in battle with Ousmane Dembele

The 2025 Ballon d’Or award is expected to go to one of Lamine Yamal or Ousmane Dembele, and the current Barcelona player appears to have boosted in his efforts to be crowned as the best footballer in the world later this year.

Lamine Yamal took a step towards the award after starring in Spain’s 5-4 victory over Dembele’s France in the UEFA Nations League semi-final earlier this week. He scored twice in Stuttgart, and he will go for a fourth trophy of the season when La Roja take on Portugal in Sunday’s final.

Ousmane Dembele’s Club World Cup involvement in doubt

And another boost has been handed to the Barcelona and Spain man in this bid to win the Ballon d’Or. As per MD, Dembele suffered a thigh injury during Thursday’s match, and the early signs suggest that he will miss a significant portion of this summer’s Club World Cup in the United States.

News is good for Lamine Yamal – and also Atletico Madrid

Dembele has already been ruled out of Sunday’s UEFA Nations League 3rd/4th place play-off between France and Germany, and according to the report, there is a good chance that he is unavailable for PSG’s three group stages matches in the Club World Cup. If this is the case, it’d be good news for Atletico Madrid, who are one of the European champions’ opponents in the United States.

In the event that PSG do not win the Club World Cup, Dembele’s chances of the Ballon d’Or are likely to decrease – especially if he is not involved because of injury. In turn, that would be good news for Lamine Yamal in his own bid to win the 2025 award, although Cristiano Ronaldo believes that the France international should win regardless of what happens this summer.

It remains to be seen whether Dembele can play in the Club World Cup, but those associated with Barcelona – and Atletico Madrid – will hope not.