While the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris crowned Ousmane Dembele as the world’s best player in the football world and saw Lamine Yamal narrowly lose, many critics noted that Yamal’s recognition was a sign of things to come rather than a runner-up prize.
For the 18-year-old Barcelona prodigy, Lamine Yamal’s graceful response to missing out on the top prize quickly became the talk of the town on Ballon d’Or ceremony night.
As Dembele's name was announced, Yamal quickly stood to his feet, clapping with a wide-open smile before he approached his teammate to extend greetings.
The moment captured on camera and spread like a wildfire on all social media platforms. Let’s find out how netizens reacted to the viral moment.
With one user wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "On one hand, there's a guy that congratulated his rival live and on the other hand a certain someone did not attend it."
Another user commented, "And yesterday Lamine Yamal has shown his maturity at the age of 18. Please stop comparing him to Vinicius. He went to the Ballon d'Or gala knowing he could come in second and attended to see that he didn't win."
The third one, who quipped on Real Madrid, wrote, "Something Real Madrid lacks...class!"
Although, Dembele delivered an emotional acceptance speech, but much of the post ceremony gossips were focused on Yamal.
Fans are predicting that for the 18-year-old yongster, time will come sooner rather than later.
