Ousmane Dembele only has to do one thing to win the Ballon d’Or, says football legend

EXCLUSIVE: Ousmane Dembele still has every chance of winning the Ballon d’Or, according to a 2x Champions League winner.

Currently, having looked nothing short of sensational throughout the 2025/26 campaign, Harry Kane is a major favourite to earn the accolade of being the best player on the planet. However, while the Englishman has made a very strong case, in the eyes of a fellow icon of the game, the race isn’t over yet.

Marcel Desailly thinks Ousmane Dembele could win the Ballon d’Or with a good World Cup

While Ousmane Dembele didn’t have the strongest start to the season, his recent performances against Liverpool and Bayern Munich have put him in line to claim the biggest individual reward in football.

Marcel Desailly believes both the 28-year-old and his countryman, Kylian Mbappe, could make a real argument to pip Kane to the post, if they perform on the grandest stage of them all.

In an exclusive interview with Sporf, via ToonieBet, the superstar explained: “We all look at Kylian Mbappe because he can win the Ballon d’Or this year. His statistics with Real Madrid are very good. If he has a good World Cup, he could win the Ballon d’Or, and it’s the same with Ousmane Dembele. He’s not had a really good season, but recently he’s been showing some good performances.

“France, you can see in the recent matches they’ve played, especially the one against Brazil, the association is very good. Mbappe and Dembele, we were really looking at them because there’s ego. One was the elder, and one was the young one coming up. Now they’re together, competing for France but also individually. They want to perform and be the best. You can see that they are ready to play together. Dembele has accepted to go back on the right side.”

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Marcel Desailly opens up about his old feud with Johan Cruyff

Desailly had an exceptional career, with his tremendous performance in the 1993-94 Champions League final living long in the memory.

Prior to the match, in which AC Milan destroyed Barcelona 4-0, the gifted player was rendered furious by Johan Cruyff.

The Dutchman didn’t hold back on the trash-talk. However, engaging in a war of words with the midfielder turned out to be a monstrous mistake.

In a testament to his managerial prowess, Fabio Capello used Cruyff’s mind games to inspire Desailly to produce something special.

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