The Ballon d’Or is football’s most prestigious individual award, but every year it opens the same debate: did the right player really win it? Voters often lean on trophies and headlines, while performance data sometimes tells a different story. By putting this year’s results side by side with Sofascore Ratings, we get a clearer picture of how consistency and numbers across the whole season compare against the final verdict in Paris.

When Ratings and Voting Clash: Dembélé, Yamal and Vitinha Compared

Ousmane Dembélé won the 2025 Ballon d’Or, but the Sofascore ratings tell a story that’s a little more complex. Between August 2024 and July 2025, Dembélé played 60 matches and averaged a rating of 7.70, putting in strong matches that carried PSG to huge wins. Meanwhile Lamine Yamal played 62 matches, had more assists, more dribbles per game, and a Sofascore rating of 7.80, finishing ahead even if he didn’t get the top Ballon d’Or vote. Then there’s Vitinha, who came in third in the voting, with a 7.49 rating, fewer goals and big chances created – but his influence in midfield was enough to secure a high finish among the voters.

The comparison raises questions: should raw stats and consistency matter more when deciding who deserves the trophy? The gap between what the numbers show and what the voters decide is narrower than many might think.

Read here about Ballon d’Or 2025 Winners.

Raphinha: Highest Rated But Only Fifth

Raphinha ended the 2024-25 season with the highest Sofascore ratings in both LaLiga (7.80) and the Champions League (8.24). He played 36 league matches, scoring 18 goals and making 9 assists, and across all competitions he appeared 57 times with 34 goals and 22 assists. Despite all that, he finished only 5th in Ballon d’Or 2025.

What stands out is how consistently Raphinha delivered in key moments, stepping up when Barcelona needed him most. The gap between his high performance and his placement in the voting shows the difference between what the data values and what narratives influence.

>> Ballon d’Or: Yearly portion of heated debate and (un)justified controversy

Ratings vs. Recognition

The 2025 Ballon d’Or showed once again that what voters see and what the numbers say don’t always match. Dembélé’s trophy-winning year convinced the voters, but Sofascore Ratings had Yamal slightly ahead. Vitinha’s third place was more about influence than raw stats, while Raphinha’s exceptional season barely made a dent in the final vote despite ratings that outdone everyone else.

The contrast is clear: awards are about narratives, but ratings are about performance. And it’s in that space between the two where the real debates begin.