Two days before the 2025 Ballon d'Or ceremony on 22/9, social media was abuzz with rumors that Yamal would win the prestigious award. However, Vincent Garcia, editor-in-chief of France Football magazine, which has overseen the award since 1956, personally refuted these claims.

"I am the only one who knows the winner of the 2025 Ballon d'Or, and the criteria are clearly defined: individual performance, decisiveness and impact; team trophies; and fair play, both on and off the field," Garcia said on 21/2. "There are speculations, but the final result is kept secret until the last minute. The winner doesn't know and will not be informed before the ceremony."

France Football editor-in-chief Vincent Garcia. Photo: France Football

France Football editor-in-chief Vincent Garcia. Photo: France Football

Following France Football's protocol, the votes cast by the 100 international journalists who comprise the jury will be revealed in a special edition of the magazine on Saturday, 27/9, along with the final rankings.

In an exclusive interview with L'Equipe TV, which shares ownership with France Football, Garcia hinted at the significant gap in votes between Dembele and Yamal.

When asked if Dembele's victory was as decisive as Karim Benzema's over Sadio Mane (549 votes to 193) in 2022, or as close as the contest between Rodri and Vinicius the previous year, Garcia replied, "If I had to give you an idea, honestly, there wasn't really a race this year. Ousmane won by a landslide. I believe he received strong support from the jury members. This seems to have been a very convincing Ballon d'Or for our judges."

When the 30 nominees were announced, some speculated that Dembele's votes might be split, as PSG had eight other players on the list, including Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who spent half the season with the Parisian club, and Gianluigi Donnarumma, who had transferred to Man City. However, the France Football editor-in-chief dismissed this notion.

"Not really," Garcia stated. "Vitinha received a few first-place votes. Achraf Hakimi too, but very few. Ousmane practically swept the votes. Not quite a clean sweep, but as I said, he garnered strong support across all continents, from Africa and Europe to South and North America. So, this is a clear and convincing Ballon d'Or result."

Dembele lifts the 2025 Ballon d'Or at the Chatelet Theater in Paris, France, on the evening of 22/9. Photo: Ballon d'Or

Dembele lifts the 2025 Ballon d'Or at the Chatelet Theater in Paris, France, on the evening of 22/9. Photo: Ballon d'Or

This year's Ballon d'Or ceremony faced an unexpected hurdle: PSG players were unable to attend due to a rescheduled Ligue 1 match between Marseille and PSG. Originally scheduled for the day before, the match was postponed due to an orange-level storm and flood warning in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region of southern France.

Garcia recounted the challenges faced by the 2025 Ballon d'Or organizers: "It was a complicated day for event management and organization. Due to the extreme weather conditions in the south, everyone was trying to protect their interests. Marseille didn't want to compromise on rescheduling, which we understand, and neither did the league, as it's their rule that postponed matches must be played the next day."

"Keeping the Ballon d'Or result secret didn't help. Had PSG known the outcome beforehand, they probably would have done everything to avoid playing tonight. But they were in limbo. They thought, 'Maybe we shouldn't try to postpone the match to another day, like in December, if we don't win anything.' It's a shame, but that's how it is. We wanted all the PSG players to be present, but we had to accept it," Garcia said.

The France Football editor-in-chief also expressed concern about pre-ceremony speculation regarding the winner. "I think those who predicted Ousmane would win the Ballon d'Or were just guessing until the official result. They flipped a coin. Obviously, we knew the two main contenders were Yamal and Ousmane. Personally, if I weren't the editor-in-chief of France Football, I might have posted something on social media last week saying Ousmane would win. But I didn't want to risk it, as the odds were 50-50. I'm sensitive to what's being circulated. Leaks are never good, as they can strain relationships with clubs, especially if the information is inaccurate. But overall, it wasn't too bad this time," Garcia concluded.

Compiled by Hoang Thong