Who deserves the Ballon d’Or? Lamine Yamal tops CIES ranking, Mkhitaryan makes top-100

Today, September 22, at 22:00 Moscow time, the Ballon d’Or award ceremony will take place. Ahead of the announcement of the official winner, the CIES Football Observatory published its own ranking of the 100 best football players in the world over the past year, based on statistical analysis.

The first place went to Barcelona’s wonderkid Lamine Yamal, who surpassed Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid) and his teammate Pedri. Virgil van Dijk (4th) was named the best central defender, while Achraf Hakimi from PSG (9th) topped the full-back ranking. Mohamed Salah and Ousmane Dembélé also made the top 10, although other names are considered favorites in the actual Ballon d’Or race.

Notably, Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan of Inter Milan was also included in the top 100. With an index of 89.8, he placed in the middle of the list, ahead of teammates Lautaro Martínez, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, and Alessandro Bastoni, but behind Nicolò Barella.

The study also highlighted that the most experienced players in the ranking were Virgil van Dijk, Luka Modrić, and Lionel Messi, while the youngest were Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí, and Désiré Doué. By pure performance metrics (PERF), the top three were Mbappé, Yamal, and Messi.

Thus, CIES offered an alternative perspective on the balance of power in world football, further fueling the anticipation ahead of the evening ceremony of the year’s most prestigious individual award.

Main contenders for the 2025 Ballon d’Or:

• Ousmane Dembélé (PSG)

• Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)

• Vitinha (PSG)

• Achraf Hakimi (PSG)

• Raphinha (Barcelona)

• Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Top players of 2025 according to CIES (statistical data only):

1. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)

2. Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid)

3. Pedri (Barcelona)

4. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

5. Michael Olise (Bayern Munich)

6. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

7. Ousmane Dembélé (PSG)

8. Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)

9. Achraf Hakimi (PSG)

10. Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid)

Full list.