Samir Nasri has thrown his full support behind Ousmane Dembele to win the 2025 Ballon d’Or, saying the PSG forward’s rise and impact make him a worthy candidate.
The former French international and now consultant praised Dembele’s turnaround and insisted the award should stay in French hands.
Speaking to Canal+ on August 28, 2025, Nasri said: “Because of his extraordinary season, his decisiveness throughout it, and because he’s French, I’m not going to put someone else in the place of a Frenchman when a Frenchman can win it.”
He highlighted Dembélé’s importance in PSG’s run: “I think we talk a lot about the PSG team, but it still took a player like Ousmane Dembélé to score so many goals, and in key moments.”
For Nasri, Dembélé’s transformation was the key: “I think his radical change, especially since it happened in December, is where everything changes, where he’s starting to find his effectiveness, and I think he fully deserves it.”
Nasri also praised teammates Hakimi and Vitinha, placing them in third, while tipping young Lamine Yamal as runner-up.
