Nigerian international William Troost-Ekong has named a player who deserves to win the 2025 Ballon d'Or ahead of the ceremony on Monday night.
The best player in the world is set to be crowned, and fans, pundits and commentators are anticipating the new king of world football.
All roads lead to the Chatelet du Theatre, with Lamine Yamal, Mohame Salah, Ousmane Dembele and Rafinha, all in the race for the coveted prize.
Several 'leaked' documents have claimed different winners, but France Football magazine and UEFA will announce just one winner during the gala.
While one claims Rafinha edged out Dembele to the gong, a journalist debunked the report, saying he saw a document showing Lamine Yamal is the winner.
Amid the conversations, Super Eagles of Nigeria captain Troost-Ekong disclosed that Mohamed Salah had done enough to win the ultimate award.
Ekong said via ESPN: "I think so too (that Salah should win the Ballon d'Or). I think there was a slight, slowed down of how he played maybe towards the end of the season.
"But if you look at it as a whole, I think it should be in that conversation and definitely be one of the top three.
"Yeah, Salah is a player that should definitely go down as the world's best. And if he does so, he might arguably be one of the greatest players of all time."
Mohamed Salah played a huge role in helping Liverpool become English champions for the 20th time.
The Egyptian international netted 29 goals and 18 assists, giving him a total of 47 Premier League goal involvements, tying the record for the most in a 38-game season.
Salah also won the Golden Boot for the fourth time, sharing the record with Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, as he also made the PL team of the year list, BBC reports.
The 33-year-old netted three goals in the Champions League before Liverpool crashed out in the second round to eventual winners Paris St-Germain.
Meanwhile, Spanish giants Real Madrid will not be in attendance at the ceremony in Paris.
The relationship between the Spanish club and the Ballon d'Or organisers is at its most strained point in years, beIN Sports reports.
In 2024, the La Liga giants stunned the world with a last-minute boycott after learning that Vinícius Júnior would not win the award.
Legit.ng earlier reported that fans across the globe believe that winning the Ballon d'Or comes with a huge amount of money.
There are claims that the trophy is not made of pure gold, and the value is just around 3,000 euros.
Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong picks his Ballon d'Or winner...
— ESPN Africa (@ESPNAfrica) September 22, 2025
And it's not Dembele or Yamal 👀 pic.twitter.com/T7ZBE7GUnu
