In a season already defined by relentless goal-scoring and shifting hierarchy, Toni Kroos has made his stance unambiguous. In a recent conversation, the former Real Madrid orchestrator declared that, “for me, the pretty clear number one” is Ousmane Dembele of Paris Saint-Germain. This is not a hollow endorsement. It is a direct rebuke to a Ballon d’Or marketplace that currently has Harry Kane as the favourite, with Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi hovering behind him. Kroos has never been one to chase fashion; his football intelligence, honed across La Liga and the Champions League, carries weight. And he’s putting all that weight behind a player who polarises like few others.
Dembele’s path to the top has been chaotic, undulating, and sometimes frustrating. But at this decisive stage of the season, his numbers and performances with Paris Saint-Germain have shifted the debate. With over fifty goal involvements across all competitions, Dembele has been the most destructive wide forward in Europe, a player who routinely tears apart top-tier defenses with elite dribbling and sheer decisiveness in front of goal. Kroos, a man who has faced the Frenchman in multiple Clasicos, knows exactly what it takes to defuse that threat. His praise, therefore, is not an accident or a courtesy. It is a hardened professional’s observation of an attacker who has finally translated his insane raw talent into consistent, match-winning output.
A French player claiming the prestigious Ballon d’Or is not a mere possibility, it would constitute a significant cultural event. Dembele would become the sixth Frenchman to lift the prize, trailing the footsteps of his compatriot Karim Benzema, who took the honours in 2022. If that happens, it would mark two consecutive home triumphs for France after the World Cup cycle, and feature a wave of Versailles that has never been seen before. His involvement in the current campaign is further strengthened by PSG’s dominance as the Men’s Club of the Year in the same ceremony, a collective success features the candidate himself – for good reason.
The battle for the 2026 trophy is far from a formality, especially with Messi’s own credentials in the World Cup as he struck eight goals for Argentina. But Dembele’s candidacy had already been attached to a rolling campaign to bolster his profile, an operation designed to spark dialogue around the PSG forward’s case. Though the institution of this has been contested, it only underlines the way the contemporary world of football awards are influenced. Kroos is under no doubt that this is no worthwhile job. He has to be watched, ignored at reactions, and followed the judged argument with a calm conviction that reverberates.
That’s the telling part. In a speech he has spoken out against whitewashing of vote – with those who demand goal-of-the-week spectacle – Kroos is touching on a more intrinsic read of the game’s greatest award. He played and thrived under a manager he famously crowned as the best, in an era of chaotic freedom. He knows that there is a beauty in the predictable, the superlative, he’s ready to be held down. For him, Dembele is different, maybe the closest player to a one-man football system out there. Whether the voting world agrees or not, Kroos’s credibility president states. That title, hear the echo: The defensive denier is not going to move. Dembele is his man, and he isn’t losing his nerve.
