With only hours until the Ballon d’Or presentation in Paris, Spanish writer Edu Aguirre has made a bold prediction regarding who will win. This year’s prize will undoubtedly go to a new winner, as no prior recipient has been nominated since Rodri’s Golden Ball victory last year, which was gained because to his success with Spain and Manchester City.
Among the contenders are teenage sensation Lamine Yamal, his teammate Raphinha, and a slew of Paris Saint-Germain stars such as Ousmane Dembele, Vitinha, and Achraf Hakimi, all of whom played pivotal roles in Les Parisiens’ historic four-trophy haul, which included their first Champions League title under Luis Enrique.
As the hours pass, conjecture and whispers circulate about who voters deem the finest of the best. However, Aguirre, a Real Madrid fan with over a million Instagram followers, claims to already know the solution.
Edu Aguirre claims Lamine Yamal has won the Ballon d’Or.
Despite preferring others to win, Aguirre believes the young Spaniard, who helped Barcelona win La Liga last season, will receive the honour. He told El Chiringuito TV (see the entire segment below):
“I believe Lamine will undoubtedly win the Ballon d’Or. What amazes me is that they [Barcelona] have not won the Champions League. There is no World Cup, therefore in France, it should be a debate between [Ousmane] Dembele, Vitinha, and Achraf [Hakimi]. PSG has already won everything this season.”
Despite early predictions that PSG will boycott this year’s ceremony, like Real Madrid did last year after Vinicius Junior did not win, Desire Doue, Dembele, and Joao Neves will all attend. With the new rules requiring the winner to be unaware of their victory until it is announced to the rest of the audience, the outcome is still uncertain.
If Yamal takes the prize, there will be few objections. Last season, he made 55 appearances across all competitions, scoring 18 goals and providing 25 assists, carrying both club and country at the juvenile ages of 17 and 18. His manager, Hansi Flick, believes there is only one greater player in world football right now, and many commentators have questioned if Lionel Messi was ever as impressive as Yamal at the same level of his development.
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