Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford believes Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal is the standout candidate to win this year’s prestigious Ballon d’Or award.
The England international revealed the Spanish teenage sensation as his preferred candidate for the award, ahead of France Paris Saint Germain’s winger Ousmane Dembele.
Yamal and Dembele are among the favorites for the 2025 Ballon d’Or award, after both players had stellar campaigns in the recently-concluded season.
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The 17-year old Yamal starred as Barcelona claimed a clean sweep of Spain’s domestic trophies- the La Liga title, Copa Del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup, while he was also influential in Spain’s run to the UEFA Nations League final before losing to Portugal on penalties.
Dembele, meanwhile, led PSG to a historic treble, which included a first-ever UEFA Champions League crown, contributing 33 goals and 15 assists in all competitions.
“It’s difficult to put into words what he is doing because he’s not supposed to be doing that at 16, 17,” Rashford said.
“He is playing at 17 at the highest level, I don’t think we have seen it. To have this mentality is a skill. It is not normal to be able to do what he does, not only now because he will keep improving. In three years’ time we don’t know what we are going to say about him.
If you look at it just from football ability I think he [Yamal] has to win, but then if you look at Dembele with the Champions League win…it depends how you see it. I wouldn’t be disappointed whichever of them won”, he added.
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Rashford spent the latter part of last season on-loan at Aston Villa after falling out with Man United manager Ruben Amorim, also revealed his desire to play at the Spanish champions alongside Yamal.
He stated; “Yeah, sure. Everybody in the world wants to play with the best. So hopefully, we’ll see…”
The 2025 Ballon d’Or award ceremony will take place on the 22nd of September, with the nominees set to be announced in August.
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