The 2025 Ballon d'Or ceremony at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris crowned Ousmane Dembélé as the world's best player. Yet, the most talked-about moment of the night came not from the winner, but from Barcelona's 18-year-old prodigy, Lamine Yamal. His graceful response to narrowly missing out on the top prize quickly became the highlight of the evening.

Lamine Yamal's graceful response to narrowly missing out on the top prize quickly became the highlight of the evening. Credit: X|@ballondor

Lamine Yamal shows grace in defeat

As Dembélé’s name was read out, Yamal immediately rose to his feet, applauding with a wide smile before warmly embracing his teammate. The moment was quickly captured on camera and spread like wildfire across social media.

Especially X (formerly known as Twitter), f

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