PSG Star Deserves France’s Backing to Edge Lamine Yamal in Ballon d’Or Race, Says Ex-OL Standout

As Ligue 1’s joint top scorer alongside Mason Greenwood and the standout performer in the Champions League this season, Dembélé has to win the Ballon d’Or for former Olympique Lyonnais player Karl Toko Ekambi—no question about it.

“The Spanish always stand firmly behind their players, 200 percent,” Ekambi said (h/t Le10Sport). “In France, all we do is criticize ours! Normally, we should all be backing Ousmane Dembélé, but people keep finding faults with him… Do you think if a Spanish player had Dembélé’s season, people would be talking? They wouldn’t say a word! They’d just be waiting for him to be handed the trophy.”

“Based on the criteria they always give us, there shouldn’t even be a debate! The problem is, they just don’t want to give it to Dembélé. And I also think that, maybe, it bothers the French that Dembélé could win a Ballon d’Or before Mbappé.”