Ballon d'Or: Capello snubs Salah and Dembele, names favourites

Fabio Capello has revealed his top three picks for the 2025 Ballon d’Or award, despite there being five months until the winner is announced on October 27. 

While Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembele and Barcelona’s Raphinha have had impressive campaigns, the renowned Italian ex-manager ignored the forwards in his top three.

The former England manager selected Barcelona’s 17-year-old sensation Lamine Yamal as his top pick, recognising the young talent's impressive performances, especially against Inter Milan in the Champions League semi-finals. 

Speaking to Speaking to El Partidazo de COPE, via GiveMeSport, the legendary manager picked Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior to complete his top three. 

"I would vote for Lamine Yamal for the Golden Ball,” said Capello. “My votes would be: Vinicius, Mbappé and, first, Lamine Yamal.”

When asked about the brilliance of the teenager compared to Diego Maradona or Lionel Messi, Capello refrained from mentioning the Barca sensation in the same breath as both Argentines. 

“Lamine Yamal is a player with a lot of quality and great potential to improve, but I don’t see the genius of a phenomenon in him,” he continued. “Messi or Maradona did things no one could even imagine, and right now I can’t compare him to them.”

Although they were eliminated in the Champions League semis, Barcelona could dethrone Real Madrid in LaLiga this week. 

Hansi Flick’s men are seven points above Los Blancos with three games remaining.