Gareth Bale Reveals His Top Pick for This Year's Ballon d'Or Award

Welsh football legend Gareth Bale has expressed his view that Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmané Dembélé deserves to claim the 2025 Ballon d'Or, describing the French forward as the clear frontrunner "by a considerable margin."

Following his retirement in 2023, Bale has pursued various ventures, including his current attempt to acquire ownership in his local team Cardiff City. The former Real Madrid superstar has also ventured into football commentary, taking on assignments with DAZN during the Club World Cup.

Bale will forever be remembered as one of Britain's finest footballers, though his prime years overlapped with the dominant eras of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Consequently, the dynamic winger never came close to securing his own Ballon d'Or, despite earning top-20 finishes on five occasions.

Following Messi and Ronaldo's departures to MLS and Saudi Arabia respectively, the prestigious individual accolade has become increasingly competitive. Though Messi secured his eighth award in 2023 following Argentina's World Cup triumph in Qatar.

Rodri currently holds the contentious title after many anticipated Madrid's Vinícius Júnior would claim the 2024 honor, sparking ongoing discussions about the 2025 recipient. Nevertheless, from Bale's perspective, there's a clear leader at the summit. When ESPN inquired about Dembélé's qualifications, he responded: "I believe you must also consider the team's achievements.

"While everyone naturally focuses on individual performances, I think when you're capturing those major honors, winning the Champions League, securing the domestic treble, and potentially claiming the Club World Cup, it becomes difficult to overlook someone based on both his personal season and his role in transforming victories into silverware," Bale elaborated.

Dembélé has spearheaded an exceptional PSG squad that narrowly missed global conquest on Sunday evening to cap off an extraordinary campaign. Nevertheless, the Frenchman's deployment as a versatile false nine has proven instrumental to Luis Enrique's tactical approach, with his 35th goal of the season coming in PSG's Club World Cup semifinal triumph over Real Madrid.

"This certainly establishes him as the clear favorite by a significant distance in my view."

Barcelona duo Raphinha and Lamine Yamal are also in consideration, while Liverpool's Mohamed Salah delivered a record-setting Premier League campaign. Vitinha's exceptional performances anchoring PSG's midfield have similarly positioned him among the candidates.