Spanish Journalist Claims to Know Ballon d’Or Winner As Result ‘Leaks’ Hours Before Awards
- Another leaked document of the 2025 Ballon d'Or has gone viral on the internet, revealing the potential winner
- The internet space has been agog with reports of the new king, hours before the ceremony at the Chatelet du Theatre in Paris
- Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane, Ousmane Dembele, and Raphinha are among the leading contenders, but only one will be crowned the world's best
All roads lead to the prestigious Chatlet du Theatre on Monday night, September 22, venue of the 2025 Ballon d'Or ceremony.
The world's best footballer is set to be crowned, and there are speculations on the player who will take home the coveted prize.
Harry Kane, Ousmane Dembele, Lamine Yamal, Mohamed Salah and Rafinha are some of the leading contenders who could take home the award.
Source: Getty Images
Ahead of the award ceremony, a Madrid-based journalist, Edu Aguirre, stated that he had seen the leaked document that showed Yamal won the award.
He said via Tribuna:
"I think Lamine Yamal has won the Ballon d'Or. This is absolutely devastating for Ousmane. After the season he's had, it's heartbreaking."
According to the leaked document, the 18-year-old will win the 2025 Ballon d'Or by just five points over Barcelona teammate Raphinha.
It was gathered that Yamal garnered 805 points to Raphinha's 800, to become one of the youngest-ever Ballon d'Or winners, while Ousmane Dembele had 742 points in third position.
Reports have it that no fewer than 20 family members will accompany the Barcelona star to the event, indicating he could actually be the winner.
However, many believe that Paris Saint-Germain star Ousmane Dembele is the leading contender, having won the Champions League and every other trophy in France last season.
The result is a potential reflection of the same controversial decision that saw Rodri beat Vinicius Junior to the award in 2024.
Abedi Pele tips Mo Salah for Ballon d'Or
Meanwhile, Ghanaian football legend Abedi Pele has tipped believes Mohamed Salah has done enough to win the Ballon d'Or this year.
The Egyptian international has been outstanding for Premier League club Liverpool.
The voting is done by one journalist from each of the top 100 countries on the FIFA rankings before the nominees' list is released, this time in June 2025, per UEFA.
Source: Getty Images
Each journalist selects ten out of the 30 nominees in descending order of merit. The ten selected nominees are awarded 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 points, respectively, and the player with the most points wins.
How much does the Ballon d'Or winner earn?
Legit.ng earlier reported that football enthusiasts believe that winning the Ballon d'Or comes with a huge amount of money.
The prestigious award, which is backed by UEFA and France Football, only issues the statuette as a symbol of prestige. There are claims that the trophy is not made of pure gold, and the value is just around 3,000 euros.
Source: Legit.ng
