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Ballon d’Or 2025: No Rodri-Vinicius debate as Osumane Dembele reigns

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Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele finally won the 2025 Ballon d’Or award.

The France international won the prestigious individual prize ahead of Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal (second), PSG’s Vitinha (third), Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (fourth) and Barcelona’s Raphinha (fifth) on Monday night in Paris, France.

The 28-year-old emerged as the winner because of his standout performances for PSG in the year under review.

Dembele registered 39 goals and 14 assists from 61 games across all competitions for the Parisians.

He played a key role as he led Luis Enrique’s side to win the UEFA Champions League trophy, the French Ligue 1 title, the French Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.

The former Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund star was named the French Ligue 1 Player of the Season, Champions League Player of the Season, and he also won the Ligue 1 Golden Boot.

However, his top contender for the 2025 Ballon d’Or, Yamal, helped Barcelona win the LaLiga and the Copa del Rey last season.

Yamal scored 19 goals and provided 24 assists from 65 games across competitions for Barca.

But his failure to win the UEFA Nations League and the UEFA Champions League might have cost him the coveted prize this year.

Ekwutosblog reports that this year’s Ballon d’Or top two (Dembele and Yamal) created little or no debate compared to last year’s top two contenders, Manchester City’s Rodri and Real Madrid’s Vinicius.

Recall that Rodri won the 2024 Ballon d’Or ahead of Vinicius, who came in second place.

But several fans, football icons and pundits argued that the Brazilian international should have won the top individual prize ahead of the Spain international.

Real Madrid were disappointed and did not send Vinicius or anyone to the Ballon d’Or event at the Theatre du Châtelet in Paris.

Speaking with Ekwutosblog on Monday night, former TTC Football Academy coach Emmanuel Brown insisted that Dembele deserved the award ahead of Yamal.

According to him, the Frenchman was key to PSG’s success both domestically and in Europe.

He added that Dembele beating Yamal to the Ballon d’Or did not create a debate or argument like when Rodri won the award ahead of Vinicius last year.

“First and foremost, I want to say a big congratulations to Dembele for winning the Ballon d’Or to become the best player in the world,” Brown said.

“He truly deserves the Ballon d’Or ahead of Yamal, and there should be no debate about it, like what we saw between Rodri and Vinicius in the last edition.

“A well-deserved one for him [Dembele]. I’m happy for him because he has truly developed and matured in the game, right from when he was at Dortmund and Barcelona.

“Dembele is also a humble player who you hardly see having issues with coaches or teammates.

“Of course, he was a key player for PSG last season, leading them to win their first-ever UEFA Champions League after winning the Ligue 1 title.

“He is a fantastic player and I hope he continues his top performances for PSG this season. As for Yamal, as long as he continues playing for Barcelona, he will surely win the Ballon d’Or in his career.”

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EPL: Fulham must move on from defeat to Manchester City — Iwobi

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Alex Iwobi says Fulham must stay positive despite their 5-4 defeat to Manchester City at Craven Cottage on Tuesday.

Marco Silva’s side put up a spirited display in the encounter, and were unlucky not to get at least one point.

Iwobi started the fight back by scoring the second goal for Fulham early in the second half.

The versatile midfielder’s compatriot, Samuel Chukwueze then rose from the bench to score two more goals for the Cottagers.

Manchester City, however, held on to go home with maximum points.

Iwobi stated that they deserved more from the game.

“I feel disappointed because we didn’t get anything out of the fighting spirit that we showed, but I think we have to take the positivity from the game,” Iwobi told the club’s official website.

Fulham will be away to Crystal Palace in their next Premier League game on Sunday.

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EPL: Guardiola names team that impresses him everyday

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Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola has named the Premier League club that has impressed him so much this season.

The Spaniard said that Enzo Maresca’s side have really impressed him with the improvement they make everyday.

Speaking after Manchester City beat Fulham 5-4 in the Premier League on Tuesday night, Guardiola pointed out that a team must remain consistent to win the title.

Pep Guardiola’s side closed the gap at the top of the Premier League to just two points behind Arsenal with the victory over Fulham, but the Gunners could maintain their five points lead with a win over Brentford on Wednesday night.

“Chelsea impresses me more and more every day with Enzo [Maresca], but it’s long,” he told reporters after the win.

“Premier League is so long, many things will happen. We won six Premier Leagues, four or five when we in December, January or February we were behind.

“The team who wins the Premier League is the team who grows during the months and this is what we try to do. No injuries, it’s so long.

“But at the same time, if we push, we will be better and push ourselves and control the situations better, the emotions and we will see what happens.”

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Outrage As ‘Biological Male’ Wins World’s Strongest Woman Event in Texas (Photos)

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The 2025 World’s Strongest Woman final has sparked outrage after an alleged transgender athlete won gold.

American Jammie Booker, who is accused of being a biological male, beat Great Britain’s Andrea Thompson to victory at the event in Arlington, Texas.

According to Mail Online, Thompson walked off the podium, appearing to say ‘this is bulls***,’ while Booker celebrated. The Brit has since been crowned the ‘true World’s Strongest Woman’ by her coach and some of her peers.

Rebecca Roberts, a three-time winner of World’s Strongest Woman, has sensationally claimed that no one – not even the organizers – knew about Booker’s background.

Details on the American are not clear, but the publication sighted a YouTube video – uploaded to what appears to be Booker’s YouTube channel in September 2017, with Booker saying: ‘Everyone is dying to tell their own story and I am obviously no exception to that.

‘I’m 21-year-old trans woman with a history of abuse, struggling to stay true to herself while under the rule of her religious parents.’

On Monday night, Roberts posted a picture on Instagram that read ‘Protect Women’s Sports.’ She wrote alongside the picture: ‘I hold no hate toward transgender people. Everyone deserves dignity, respect, and the freedom to live their truth.

But I cannot stay silent about something that threatens the fairness and future of women’s strength sports. Transgender women, people born male, should not be competing in the women’s category.

This isn’t about identity. It isn’t about politics. It’s about the undeniable physical differences that exist in strength-based sports… differences that don’t disappear, and that matter more here than almost anywhere else. Women’s categories were created for a reason, and if we lose that, we lose the foundation of our sport.

‘What happened this weekend wasn’t transparent. None of us knew. Not even the organisers knew. And when fairness is taken by surprise, trust in the sport begins to crack.

‘My message is simple. Trans people belong in sport, but women’s divisions must remain biologically born female-only.

‘I love this sport. I have given my life to it. And I won’t ignore something that could quietly change it forever. Congratulations to @andreathompson_strongwoman… the true World’s Strongest Woman 2025’

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