Former England international Gary Lineker has responded to the controversy surrounding the Ballon d’Or ceremony after Leeds United icon Raphinha was overlooked for the award.
Ousmane Dembele lifted the 2025 Ballon d’Or after playing an important part in Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League triumph, as Raphinha finished fifth in the voting.
Leeds fans were outraged by the decision after the Brazilian star enjoyed an impressive personal season, scoring 35 goals and registering 14 assists with Barcelona.
The decision not to award the prestigious prize also prompted outrage from Neymar, with the Barcelona legend describing the decision as “too much of a joke”.
Now, Lineker has reacted to the furious reaction to the decision to overlook Raphinha, describing the process as biased towards the Champions League.
Gary Lineker reacts to Raphinha controversy
Speaking on the Rest is Football podcast alongside Micah Richards, Lineker backed the decision to award Dembele the prestigious prize.
Describing the suggestions that the process is rigged as “nonsense”, Lineker said that Dembele was a worthy winner after a brilliant individual season. Lineker said: “It irritates me a little bit, the Ballon d’Or, in terms of every time someone wins it now, all it becomes about is those who didn’t win it. And I think that’s slightly irritating.
“Obviously, I don’t think it helped that Lamine Yamal’s dad said something, but we know how dads are, you’re going to be protective of your own and all that stuff. And you could argue that Lamine Yamal is the best player in the world.
“I think it’s a good thing he didn’t win it because I think at his age, too much, he’s got plenty of time. I think Dembele deserved to win it. I thought he had a brilliant season.
“We know one of the three categories in this is the success of your club, and, obviously, Barcelona did well, but it’s very Champions League-biased, isn’t it? In that sense, understandably so. And he had a brilliant season.
“But this whole thing about, oh, well, Raphinha was fifth. This is terrible. And I get that. I get that. And we’ll all have our opinions. But then you’ve got Salah up there, who also, you could say, had a sensational season in England and won trophies as well.
“And there were so many really good, brilliant players up there that it just comes down to people’s opinions. And this stuff about it being fixed and all this, I think it’s nonsense.
Leeds United’s wait for a Ballon d’Or winner continues
With the decision to award the Ballon d’Or to Ousmane Dembele, Leeds’ wait for a current or former player to win the award continues.
According to Leeds Live, 10 Leeds players have been nominated during their time with the club, stretching back to John Charles, who was the first nominee from the club in 1957.
Charles is also the closest Leeds have come to seeing a former player lift the award, when he finished third in the voting during his time with Juventus in 1959.
Raphinha has equalled the highest ranking of legendary former Leeds captain Billy Bremner, who also finished fifth in 1973.
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