From Vinicíus Jr. and Real Madrid’s boycott in 2024 to Robert Lewandowski’s robberies in 2020 and 2021, the Ballon d’Or ceremony has been riddled with controversy, complaints, and strikes—and 2025 was no different.
The problem boils down to one simple term: narratives. The Ballon d’Or has become a joke of an award, and the media is to blame.
Prior to the ceremony, it had seemed the “projected” winner of the prestigious award for the best footballer in the world for the 2024/25 season was changing week after week. Starting with soon-to-be Premier League Champion winger Mohammed Salah in October, to Raphinha’s near record-breaking campaign for Barcelona in the Champions League, the trophy ended up in the hands of Ousmane Dembélé, the leading attacker on a stacked PSG squad, which won every trophy in its path. However, this consensus was controversial, as countless people argued for the teenage sensation Lamine Yamal to take the award, despite his lackluster stats in comparison to his contending peers.
The Lamine Yamal agenda grew out of hand, unlike nearly any other Ballon d’Or case seen in recent times. It seemed as if tweets and reels were being force-fed down football fans’ throats day after day. However, despite what Yamal’s father has to say, being a Barcelona starter at age 18 while putting up edit-worthy dribbles and occasional outstanding performances in the season’s second half does not earn the Ballon d’Or. At the end of the day, the award, which supposedly honors the best footballer in the world, should be given to the best footballer in the world, no matter how young, promising or exciting other candidates may be.
Raphinha had a season for the ages. The Brazilian winger had 60 goal contributions across all competitions, 22 of which came in the biggest tournament in club football, the Champions League. Meanwhile, the hot prospect Lamine Yamal had 24 goal contributions, and just 9 goals across all competitions for Barcelona. Despite the astronomical difference in stats, Yamal finished second in the rankings while Raphinha was in a distant fifth.
Prior to the ceremony, there were even Spanish journalists claiming Yamal had won the award while French journalists claimed it was Dembélé all the way. This has been a problem for years, as the biased media relentlessly pushes whatever narrative will get them the most interactions and clicks.
Even the voters themselves show bias: in 2024 there was an Argentinian voter who filled up his top five with an astounding four Argentines, including Messi, who had spent his days in MLS.
The Egyptian king from Liverpool, Mohammed Salah, was justifiably deserving of a top five finish in this year’s edition of the Ballon d’Or. However, the only journalists who voted the winger in first place were the representatives of Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, and South Africa.
The Ballon d’Or has shifted from honoring the best player in the world to rewarding the best narrative in the media. Unless the media can put bias and agendas aside, the Ballon d’Or remains not a title, but rather a perennial PR stunt.
