ESPN Ranks Dembélé Ahead of Barcelona Star as Top Player in the World

ESPN Ranks Dembélé Ahead of Barcelona Star as Top Player in the World In a new ranking from ESPN, Ousmane Dembélé ranks first, ahead of FC Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and other superstars. If you enjoy PSG Talk coverage and want to see more of it, add us as a preferred source on Google to make us a favorite and see more of our content. The start of another season brings “best of” lists from many of the top football publications. ESPN is one of the largest, and their ranking of the “ top football players in the world right now ” places Ousmane Dembélé first, ahead of Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé, Michael Olise, and others. The article praises the reigning Ballon d’Or winner as “the most complete attacker of the current era.” It also points out Dembélé’s physical frailty and that he’s not the most reliable player either. Last season, Dembélé only appeared in 22 Ligue 1 matches. Coming in second was FC Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal. The 19-year-old won La Liga last season and the FIFA World Cup with Spain. However, he only scored nine goals and recorded 13 assists last season. There’s plenty for Lamine Yamal to work on, which is why he’s not quite the top player in the world and is unlikely to win the Ballon d’Or this season. Kvaratskhelia Ranks Third If football fans weren’t familiar with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s game, they were introduced to it during the UEFA Champions League last season, when the PSG star scored 10 goals and recorded seven assists. He was a major reason why PSG defended their Champions League title, and if Georgia qualified for the World Cup, he might be the favorite to win the Ballon d’Or. Having two of the top five players in the world certainly bodes well for PSG as they look to win a third consecutive Champions League title. They’ll need Dembélé and Kvaratskhelia to stay healthy and return to their best form by the second half of the 2026-27 season. PSG’s defense of their Champions League title begins on September 9 at the Parc des Princes as they host Slovan Bratislava.