Overview

• France Football named Ousmane Dembele the men’s Ballon d’Or winner, with Lamine Yamal second, Vitinha third and Mohamed Salah fourth.
• Liverpool had four players in the top 30: Salah (4th), Alexis Mac Allister (22nd), Virgil van Dijk (28th) and Florian Wirtz (29th).
• Van Dijk attended the Paris ceremony and later posted “Better luck next year” on Instagram, drawing visible support from Liverpool teammates and the club.
• Mac Allister confirmed he skipped the event for personal reasons, with local reporting noting he and his partner are expecting their first child.
• Former striker Ally McCoist publicly questioned Van Dijk’s low placing and said such rankings often fail to properly recognize defenders.