A former Spain international has revealed that an African star has a "20 times" better chance than Ousmane Dembele to win the Ballon d'Or.
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The race for the 2025 Ballon d'Or remains wide open as several top players have put their name forward for football's greatest individual award.
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Barcelona's Lamine Yamal are among the favourites after notching impressive seasons, while the PSG trio of Vitinha, Ousmane Dembele and Achraf Hakimi are also considered for the award due to the French side's dominant trophy-laden season.
According to Afrik Foot, former Valencia goalkeeper Santi Canizares has revealed who he would consider the favourite for the Ballon d'Or.
"Achraf Hakimi deserves the Ballon d'Or 20 times more than Dembélé , or even Vitinha," the 55-year-old said.
"I'm sick of them giving it to strikers. From time to time, it will have to be given to a full-back who has a season like Achraf or to a midfielder like Vitinha," he added.
Canizares echoed the words of former French player Jean-Micahel Larque, who made a plea on behalf of the Moroccan defender.
"How can we ignore a player who has reinvented the full-back position?" he asked.
"It would be good if, from time to time, we think outside the box and journalists put a goalkeeper and a defender in the top 10 list and not just focus on a midfielder, a playmaker and a goalscorer," he added.
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The final list of nominees will be announced in August with the winner set to be announced in September.
