Madrid, Sep 23 (IANS) FC Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal remains patient in his pursuit of the coveted Ballon d’Or, as suggested by his recent social media post. The Barcelona and Spain player, who recently celebrated his 18th birthday, was named second behind Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembele in Monday’s star-studded presentation in Paris.

Despite his impressive performance in leading Barca to both a League and Cup double in Spain and reaching the Champions League semifinals last season, Yamal recognises that his opportunity to claim the Ballon d’Or will come, reports Xinhua.

“God’s plan is perfect; you have to climb to get to the summit,” wrote the teenager on his social media.

Meanwhile, though he missed out on the Ballon d’Or, Yamal retained the Kopa Trophy for the best young player for a second consecutive year. “I am happy for the Trophy Kopa X2 and I want to congratulate Dembele for his award and a great season,” he added.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele won the 2025 men’s Ballon d’Or at the annual awards ceremony in Paris, claiming the honour for the first time in his career.

The 28-year-old French international, who scored 35 goals and provided 16 assists last season as PSG lifted the UEFA Champions League, Ligue 1, and French Cup titles, became the sixth French player to receive the award and the first since Karim Benzema in 2022.

Dembele was visibly emotional on stage. “This award was never the goal in my career, but I fought to win the Champions League for the team,” he said.

Barcelona’s 18-year-old forward Lamine Yamal finished second in the men’s Ballon d’Or vote and received the Kopa Trophy for best young player, while his club teammate Vicky Lopez won the women’s Kopa Trophy.

PSG was named the Men’s Club of the Year after recording 48 wins and scoring 168 goals last season en route to four straight Ligue 1 titles and a Champions League crown. Coach Luis Enrique was honoured as men’s best coach, while Gianluigi Donnarumma took the men’s best goalkeeper award, and Viktor Gyokeres finished as top scorer. The Socrates Award for humanitarian work went to the Xana Foundation, established by Enrique in memory of his late daughter.

–IANS

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