The 2025 Ballon d’Or race is heating up.
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah was expected to be the favourite but due to the Premier League side’s exit in the Champions League, he has dropped down the rankings in the eyes of a lot of people.
Even though we do not know who will win the UCL, due to there not being any international competitions, it is expected the winner of the award will be a player who wins the European competition.
Barcelona have a handful of players who could be considered but the duo of Raphinha and Pedri are the Catalonian side’s best bets.
Even though Raphinha has plenty of goals and assists, Pedri’s contribution to the team has not gone unnoticed by his own teammates.
“For me, Pedri deserves to win the Ballon d’Or,” Gavi said in a recent press conference.
“I don’t know if he’ll win it, because football changes quickly but what Pedri offers us is very important.
Gavi continued: “He’s special.”
Sadly for the Spanish midfielder, attackers are always preferred over midfielders and defenders.
If the Blaugrana can win the treble or even quadruple and he continues his performances then it would be very hard to argue against it.
The other contenders for the award seem to be Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe and former Barcelona player and current PSG star Ousmane Dembele.
If a surprise team was to win the Champions League then it could also bring Mo Salah back into the discussion as he is having a historical campaign in the Premier League.
There is still plenty of time for other players to kick on and add their names to the hat for the coveted award.
🚨🗣️ Gavi: “For me, Pedri deserves to win the Ballon d’Or”
“I don’t know if he’ll win it, because football changes quickly but what Pedri offers us is very important. He’s special” 🇪🇸🌕✨ pic.twitter.com/VkmvCmtYir
— Managing Barça (@ManagingBarca) March 16, 2025
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