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Guardian Nigeria
  • 6/11/2025

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Sports
Transcript
00:00Personally, the Ballon d'Or has lost the pedigree.
00:03Back in the days where we have Lionel Messi and Ronaldo, H2H, everybody giving Tic Tovrino.
00:08A couple of contenders this time around, there's Ousmane Dembele,
00:12there's Lamine Yamal, there's Rafinha, there's Kylian Mbappe.
00:16Who's your favourite?
00:18Now Ballon d'Or 2025 promises to be interesting and incredible with such an interesting season
00:25just as much with a lot of players in the running this time around.
00:28Yeah, we'll be talking about which of these players are the favourites
00:32as of course we are looking forward to September the 22nd for the ceremony.
00:37My name is Ayomidesh Yudubai.
00:38I bid you welcome to the Nutmeg here on Guardian TV.
00:46Yeah, of course I'm joined by Ogan and Kay again to discuss the Ballon d'Or running
00:51and great to have you guys on the show.
00:53Thank you very much.
00:54Always an amazing time.
00:54Quite a couple of contenders this time around, there's Ousmane Dembele,
00:58there's Lamine Yamal, there's Rafinha, there's Kylian Mbappe.
01:02Who's your favourite and why?
01:04That's a big question.
01:05Well for me, I must say personally, the Ballon d'Or just lost the pedigree from me.
01:11I don't really fancy it like, you know, I used to back in the days where we have
01:16Lionel Messi and Ronaldo, H2H, everybody giving tick to Reno for that.
01:21But regardless, it's still, you know, the show must go on and end of Anjera.
01:26So what we have now is Ousmane Dembele, quite an interesting season with PSG and Rafinha with Barcelona.
01:33I don't have a favourite, to be sincere, I do not.
01:35But if I'm going to pick someone who I feel, okay, should be in there or should actually,
01:40you know, nick this, I still want to go for Rafinha based on his outstanding display.
01:46You know, it was about leaving Barcelona before Flick came on board and then he turned the season
01:50around and you know, what an amazing season he had.
01:52Now, Kea said the tempo and said Rafinha and Dembele, of course, are leading the park.
01:59But you begin to wonder, where is a place for the likes of Mohamed Salah, incredible individual season,
02:05by the way, and then Lamine Yamao, the one who everyone is talking about.
02:10Well, you know, the likes of Salah, they did wonderfully well in the Premier League,
02:18he did wonderfully well in the Premier League.
02:19Yamao also did wonderfully well, both in the league and also in the Champions League.
02:26He actually contributed a lot to Barcelona.
02:29In as much as beautiful as Rafinha's season was, I believe that Yamao made huge contribution to
02:39the success of Rafinha and Barcelona.
02:42So, if Rafinha is tipped to be the Ballon d'Or winner, I believe that equally,
02:49it should also be given to Yamao, but we also know that there's this stereotype of
02:56Yamao is still young, he can still get it some other time.
02:59Do you believe in that?
03:00They'll give him the co-patro.
03:02Do you believe in him being young and that being a reason for him not to be awarded?
03:06I think that school of thought is actually out of it for me.
03:09This is a guy who is just 16, 17 and look at what he was able to do, not only for Barcelona,
03:13for Spain.
03:14Look at the Euros, you know.
03:15So, for me personally, talking about a stand-up performer, like Aogan said,
03:20Yamao, you know, picked the bosses for me.
03:22But then again, it's not just about the personal performances we are looking at,
03:26we look at the overall amazing season they had and how they crowned it up with trophies.
03:30You know, I'm wondering where Kylian Mbappe is in this conversation.
03:36Let me put some perspective to this now, because he's had a better start than Cristiano Ronaldo.
03:44Of course, so he might not have won, he won trophies as well.
03:47Let's not forget the Super Cup, he won that at the start of the season.
03:51Doesn't that count for something with 40 plus goals contributions?
03:54I think that takes us back to how balanced your nomination used to be.
04:00It is not just about what you did individually alone.
04:04It is about what you were able to contribute to your team.
04:09If you score goals, how did your goals affect the team?
04:13And most times we say it boils down to how much your team was able to achieve
04:19by what you have contributed.
04:21And that's why Rafinha and Yamal are in contention.
04:26Dembele is in contention.
04:28Salah is in contention.
04:30Because his individual contribution, it was the one where the IS goal scored in the league.
04:35And the assists.
04:36And the assists.
04:37So his individual contribution affected the team to winning a trophy.
04:41Dembele's individual contribution of goals and assists, aside that,
04:46is my favorite, actually.
04:47Dembele is my favorite.
04:49Because not just the goal and the assists, but the playing style.
04:53How he affects, how he just helps other individuals in the team to just be successful.
04:59The team was playing better with him.
05:00So it is, it boils down to that.
05:03Not just the, what, so that's why Kylian Mbappe is, is down.
05:08Down pecking on that since then.
05:10Well, of course, we have to bring the show to a close somewhere around here.
05:13But are we all in agreement that Dembele is the front runner right now?
05:16As it stands, yes.
05:18For me.
05:19But then, personally, by choice, I would go to Serafien and Borden.
05:22For you, it's just Dembele.
05:23Of course, you know that this Ballon d'Or is in France.
05:28I don't want to talk about that, but maybe you can't ignore it.
05:32No, no, no, but we can't even look at that aspect.
05:34There was a time we have a theory of real power of Nedved.
05:37You could see, you know, alas, it was Nedved, you know.
05:39Well, we'll see.
05:41When it is not time.
05:42That's why I said the pedigree for me has been.
05:43September 22nd will determine and then this argument will crumble.
05:49And then there will be a standout winner.
05:51Thank you very much for watching this edition of The Nutmeg.
05:53Of course, you can be part of the community by hitting the subscribe button
05:57and also tapping the notification bell to get all our latest content in and around Nigeria.
06:02And right, guys, K, Ogaan, it's been a pleasure.
06:05Thank you very much.
06:05We look forward to September 22nd.
06:07And that, of course, the much we will take.
06:08I'll see you next time.
06:10Bye for now.
06:11Dembele or dembele.