Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Luis Campos has backed star player Ousmane Dembele to win the Ballon d’Or.
Nominees for this year Ballon d’Or award was announced on August 7 with Dembele topping the list. The France International will battle it out with the likes of Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal to succeed Rodri as the men’s Ballon d’Or winner.
However, after a season in which the Frenchman scored 35 goals and assisted 16 times across all competitions, resulting in his side winning the treble and finally lifting the UEFA Champions League, it is no surprise that the 28-year-old is most critics’ winner.
Campos has now insisted that there is “no discussion” as to who the best player in the world was last season.
In fact, Campos went as far as bringing up eight-time winner Lionel Messi and five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo, saying they would win the award if they had seasons like Dembele.
Ousmane Dembele is congratulated by Luis Campos after PSG’s victory over Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League final. (Photo by Michael Regan – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
“If Ousmane doesn’t win the Ballon d’Or, it’s because the people who voted don’t have the competence to vote for the Ballon d’Or,” he told RMC Sport.
“The one who clearly deserves the Ballon d’Or is Ousmane Dembele. There’s no discussion. I’m talking about last season, not a projection about Lamine Yamal in a few years.
“If [Dembele] was called Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, there would be no discussion. This season, the player with the best statistics and the player who excelled in all competitions is Ousmane Dembele.”
With the likes of Vitinha, Achraf Hakimi, and Nuno Mendes also playing an important role in PSG triumph, Campos believed PSG could have had more nominations, too, such was the brilliance they displayed throughout the season – but he once again came back to Dembele as his side’s best player.
“PSG has nine Ballon d’Or nominees. We’re very happy – other players also deserve to be nominated, like [Bradley] Barcola and [Willian] Pacho,” Campos added.
“Ousmane Dembele was chosen as the best player in the Champions League, the best player in his league; he’s won everything.
“Hakimi and Vitinha also had extraordinary seasons, but the truth is that the best player in the Champions League and Ligue 1 is Ousmane Dembele.”
The Ballon d’Or ceremony will take place at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on Monday, September 22, hosted by Kate Scott and 1987 Ballon d’Or winner Ruud Gullit.
