The Champions League final is the biggest game in European club football.
In recent years, the showpiece event has been viewed as a pivotal factor in deciding the Ballon d’Or that year, with Vinicius Junior’s goal against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley last year looking like it had sealed his status as the best player in the world.
Alas that wasn’t the case, but the shock of him not winning the coveted award was palpable due to his performance in the Champions League final, and its importance could again be vital in this years voting.
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“If Ousmane Dembele does something extraordinary in the final, the Ballon d’Or is handed out to him!”
In 2019, Ousmane Dembele led a Barcelona counter attack in the final minute against Liverpool in the Camp Nou, with Barcelona already 3-0 up in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie.
A neat one two with Lionel Messi on the edge of the Liverpool box and he it looked almost certain he was about to bank his sides fourth on the night and all but send Barcelona to the final in Madrid.
But, a scuffed shot was gathered by Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson and we all know what happened a week later at Anfield.
When that happened, and Messi was lying on the floor with his head in his hands, it seemed almost impossible that Dembele would ever be in the conversation for the Ballon d’Or, let alone the favourite, but a good performance in the Champions League final could do exactly that for him, respected journalist Guillem Balague claims.
Speaking to FourFourTwo, Balague said: “This could be the final or the night where everyone agrees that Ousmane Dembele has to be the Ballon d’Or winner.
“I think when you debate that, people might remember the Dembele of Barcelona or previous years, but he has been extraordinary. He just needs a coronation, a universal coronation if you like; he just needs the perfect night in a final like this.
“So it’s an opportunity for him to do that, and I wouldn’t bet against him.
“The way he’s grown into filling the gap left by Mbappe, how Luis Enrique told him at the beginning of the season to ‘just be selfish, just shoot when you have the opportunity, don’t think of a pass, just go for it and double figures will come.’
“And not only have they come, his assistant coaches put the word “Ballon d’Or” in his ear, and he’s believed that he can get to that level, and he has. So for me, certainly with Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, those are the three candidates for the Ballon d’Or, and if Dembélé does something extraordinary in the final, it’s handed out to him, I think.”
It would cap off a phenomenal season for Dembele. His 33 goals across all competitions is a whopping 27 more than he achieved in his first season, and he has already been named Ligue 1 Player of the Year and top scorer in the division.
Balague has been a part of CBS Sports coverage of the Champions League this season, with the American broadcaster taking over the social sphere with the innovative coverage involving Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher, Micah Richards and Kate Scott.
He was on air for both of the games involving finalist Inter Milan and Barcelona, with the tie finishing 7-6 on aggregate and highlighted the fixtures as the best moment of the Champions League this season.
He said: “I was at both of Inter’s semi-finals. It has to be them. The first half in Barcelona, then you have to say the second half in Milan.
“The noise, the atmosphere, the turn of events, the fact that Inter weren’t giving up, that it could have been completely different, that Acerbi becomes a hero… this was the other great thing: we were pitchside, and at the end of the game, we were live on the CBS show, and everybody wanted to be on it.
“There was a queue of Inter Milan players who wanted to be on it. It was great. Sommer was there, and it was almost four or five players, and we didn’t have any microphones, but they all wanted to be on the show.
“They all wanted to talk to Thierry Henry, but also to Micah, to Jamie, and Del Piero was with me. So it was great. It was a great moment of realization that we know, especially this season, what the show means to the players. But that was like the highlight of it from a professional point of view, how much they enjoyed being part of the show.”
It’s undeniable that both games were the highlight of the season with two of Europes best team going blow for blow in a stunning tie, and if the final is anything like it, it will be one of the best in recent years.
Guillem Balague’s book – Rise of the Villans: Inside Unai Emery’s Aston Villa Revolution – is out now. Balague is represented by Blueprintx. For more information visit Blueprintx.co.uk
