Ousmane Dembele may be a Ballon d’Or winner, but former Ligue 1 star Chris Waddle claims that the Paris Saint-Germain forward can look “like a fourth division player” at times. The France international has been named the best player on the planet in 2025, with an era of dominance from all-time greats Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo being brought to a close.
End of an era: Messi and Ronaldo no longer Ballon d'Or contenders
Argentine GOAT Messi won his eighth Golden Ball in 2023 on the back of helping his country to World Cup glory at Qatar 2022. He and Ronaldo now have 13 Ballons d’Or between them, with remarkable standards being set by two of the best to ever do it.
Messi is, however, 38 years of age and plying his trade in MLS with Inter Miami, while CR7 is 40 and still going strong with Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr. They are no longer perennial contenders for the grandest of individual prizes.
AdvertisementGetty/GOALRodri succeeded by Dembele as best player on the planet
Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri claimed the Ballon d’Or in 2024, on the back of landing another Premier League title and savouring European Championship glory with his country. Dembele inherited that award 12 months on, with the mercurial talents of Barcelona’s teenage wonderkid Lamine Yamal being fended off for now.
Great players: Does PSG star Dembele tick that box?
Ex-England international Waddle, who starred for Marseille in France during his playing days, has – while speaking to BOYLE Sports, who offer football odds – said of the successors to Messi and Ronaldo’s crown: “I think people are too invested in stats. If a player is the top goalscorer, it proves they're the best at scoring goals, but that doesn't necessarily make them a great player. I've had discussions about this: there are great goalscorers and then there are great players, like Lionel Messi. Why did Ronaldo and Messi always win the Ballon d'Or?
“Not now, obviously, Ousmane Dembele won it. Dembele is an off-the-cuff player who sometimes dribbles like Messi, but other weeks he looks like a fourth division player. You never know what you're going to get with him. He's a dribbler.
“There are great goalscorers, but getting a great player is a different thing. Messi, yes, a great player. As is Ronaldo. When you look at goalscorers, I always judge people as just that: goalscorers. They're not necessarily the greatest players in the world. You can see people who have scored 30 goals in a season, but realistically you think, ‘He doesn't really do anything else. He scores the goals for them, but he doesn't really dribble, doesn't link the play up well, doesn't really hit it well.’ So, you're good at your job as a goalscorer.
“Wayne Rooney was an all-around player. Alan Shearer was a great goal scorer, a good target man who could hold the ball up, but he was judged on his goals. Harry Kane, as I said, can play as a nine or a ten. He is an all-around footballer who can score his own goals. I think if Harry Kane came back, if he had that in his head, I believe Harry does like his stats. If he did come back, and purely wanted to come back to beat Shearer’s record, then there's a fair chance he'd definitely beat it.
“He can score all types of goals and can also play as a number ten. There aren't many centre forwards, if you're talking about goal scorers, who can play as both a ten and a nine. Wayne Rooney obviously played as a ten more than a nine, but Harry Kane can definitely play both.”
GettyFuture Ballon d'Or winner? Kane in contention amid transfer talk
Free-scoring Bayern Munich striker Kane has seen a return to the Premier League speculated on, with there a clause in the contract of Tottenham’s all-time leading marksman that can be triggered in the summer of 2026.
Ex-Spurs star Waddle would like to see Kane back in north London, but has urged the England captain to remain outside of his comfort zone and take on another entirely new challenge. It has been suggested that Kane could become another ‘Galactico’ at Real Madrid alongside Kylian Mbappe and international team-mate Jude Bellingham.