Leeds United icon Raphinha was pipped to the Ballon d’Or by Paris Saint-Germain superstar Ousmane Dembele on Monday night, another player who has connections to Elland Road.
After an incredible year with Barcelona that included a La Liga title and more than 60 goals and assists, Raphinha was in the running to win the Ballon d’Or. Cafu and Thierry Henry said Raphinha should win it.
But Raphinha only managed to finish in fifth position at the awards event in Paris, while Dembele won the most prestigious individual award. He starred in a PSG side that won the Champions League and Ligue 1.
Raphinha is remembered fondly by Leeds fans for the 27 goals and assists he laid on during two years at Elland Road. But Dembele is renowned for being a “massive fan” of Leeds, according to Illan Meslier.
The story of Ousmane Dembele asking for Patrick Bamford’s shirt
Back in 2021, Patrick Bamford was one of the Premier League’s best strikers. Marcelo Bielsa’s first season in the Premier League saw Bamford have a hand in 25 top-tier goals, and Leeds finished in ninth position.
Admirers of Bielsa’s Leeds were worldwide. Among them, 2025 Ballon d’Or winner, Dembele. Bamford told the official Leeds podcast in 2021 about how Dembele requested his and Kalvin Phillips’ Leeds shirts.
It is March 2021, and Bamford has just scored in a 2-1 away win at Fulham following the international break. Now third-choice Meslier had just spent the break alongside Dembele with France’s U21 side.
Bamford told the official Leeds podcast that while on international duty with Meslier, Dembele had asked for a signed shirt from Bamford and Kalvin Phillips. Shocked, he replied by asking for Dembele’s in return.
“After the Fulham game he [Meslier] was like ‘I need your shirt please’,” Bamford said. He continued: “I said ‘yeah, fine. Who for?’ He said ‘Ah, Dembele’. I said ‘wait, who?’ He said ‘the guy from Barcelona’.
“I was like ‘what, he wants my shirt?’ and he was like ‘yeah, he wants yours and Kalvin’s shirts because he’s a massive fan of Leeds and watches every game’. I was like ‘you serious?’,” the Leeds striker continued.
“I said ‘okay, but you’ve got to get me his shirt then in return’, so he [Meslier] FaceTimed me at midnight the other day and showed me this Barcelona shirt that says ‘to my bro Bamford, from Dembele’.”
The 2025 Ballon d’Or top 10 as Ousmane Dembele scoops gong
A worthy winner and even more so, because he is a big fan of Leeds. Dembele finished ahead of Lamine Yamal with the teenage sensation finishing in second, and PSG teammate Vitinha who was voted third.
An incredible achievement for both Yamal at such a young age, and Vitinha who once endured a tricky loan at Saturday’s opponents Wolves. Mo Salah and Achraf Hakimi finished either side of Raphinha.
Cole Palmer was the only Englishman in the top 10, finishing in eighth behind Kylian Mbappe while new Man City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was ninth and PSG’s Nuno Mendes finished in tenth place.
Receive a digest of our best Leeds content each week direct to your mailbox
