Lamine Yamal’s Ballon d’Or revenge on Ousmane Dembélé put on hold in Champions League

Ousmane Dembélé will not play for Paris Saint-Germain against Barcelona on matchday 2 of the Champions League league phase on Wednesday, Oct. 1, denying Lamine Yamal the chance to exact Ballon d’Or revenge.

Dembélé beats Yamal to 2025 Ballon d’Or

Dembélé was recently voted the world’s best male player for the 2024/25 season, in which his 35 goals helped PSG secure a Champions League, Ligue 1 and French Cup treble. The 28-year-old had been the clear favorite to collect the award and ended up winning comfortably.

Yamal was his closest challenger and the only other player to collect more than 1,000 points, although Dembélé ultimately took the prize by more than 300.

Why isn’t Dembélé playing for PSG against Barcelona today?

The French attacker has yet to make an on-field appearance since his Ballon d’Or victory due to an injury that will also keep him out of Wednesday’s trip to face his former team, Barcelona.

PSG were fiercely critical of the French national team for allowing Dembélé to sustain what they described as an “avoidable” injury during the international break in early September.

On Sept. 7, the European champions revealed Dembélé would be out of action for around six weeks because of a “serious” hamstring injury. That timeline means his return is still likely to be two or three weeks away.

Barcelona vs. PSG injury report: key players out

Luis Enrique’s team will be severely weakened for the game in Catalonia, with captain Marquinhos (thigh) and fellow forwards Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (thigh/knee) and Desiré Doué (calf) also ruled out.

To make matters worse, first-choice midfield trio Fabián Ruiz (muscular), Vitinha (muscular) and João Neves (thigh) are fitness doubts.

Barcelona also enter the match with a depleted squad. Goalkeepers Joan García (meniscus) and Marc-André ter Stegen (back), midfielders Gavi (knee) and Fermín López (hip), and winger Raphinha (hamstring) are all unavailable, while left-back Alex Balde (hamstring) is doubtful.

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