France coach Didier Deschamps backed Dembele for the award, saying "considering the season Ousmane is having, he deserves it and that's all I wish for him".
Didier Deschamps expects the Paris St Germain players to be ready after their Champions League success when France take on Spain in the Nations League semifinals, with the manager also backing Ousmane Dembele for the Ballon d'Or.
Yamal and Dembele have been crucial for club and country this season and the prestigious golden ball trophy could end up with one of them in September during the ceremony in Paris.
The nominees will be announced in early August.
The Egyptian superstar, 32, is favourite to win the award, regarded as the top individual prize in football, after a sensational campaign so far.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti vehemently defended his sides’ decision to boycott the Ballon d’Or award ceremony last year in protest of Vinicius Jr’s snub and said that Rodri, who edged out Vinicius for the award, should have won the prize a year earlier instead of Lionel Messi.
Manchester City midfielder Rodri took the prestigious prize in October with favourite Vinicius in second place
“Why would it hurt me? It was my moment, to enjoy with my family. The last thing I’d be thinking about is people who weren’t there, and didn’t want to participate,” Rodri said in an interview with COPE radio.
It was revealed that five of the 99 journalists who voted for this year’s Ballon d’Or left eventual winner Rodri out of their top 10 list while three journos did not have Vinicius Junior, who came second after the Spanish midfielder, in the top 10 of their ballot.
The men's shortlist for the 2023/24 edition of the prestigious individual award is the first since 2003 to feature neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo who hoovered up the prize 13 times between them.
Vinicius Jr's remarkable performances at Real Madrid have put the 24-year-old forward as the odds-on favourite to claim his first Ballon d'Or when the award for the best player in the world is announced in Paris on Monday.
The 23-year-old scored 17 goals and registered nine assists in 51 appearances for the club last season.
Brazil forward Vinicius Junior is among the favourites and is one of six members of the Madrid team that won La Liga and the Champions League last season to be nominated.
After inspiring Real Madrid to La Liga and Champions League success, Vinicius is gearing up to reclaim the Copa America from arch-rivals Argentina. In the absence of an injured Neymar, the onus will be on the 23-year-old to lead Brazil to continental glory and given his stellar form the Selecao are already dreaming of success.
Argentina forward Angel Di Maria has snubbed five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo in his best eleven of players he has played with throughout his career when he named the lineup in an interview with TYC Sports yesterday.
Lionel Messi has been named Time magazine's "Athlete of the Year" for 2023 after a trailblazing season marked by an eighth Ballon d'Or award and his ground-breaking move to Major League Soccer's Inter Miami.
Messi won the award for a record-extending eighth time on Monday after leading Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar last season.
Nothing in life is certain except death, taxes, and Lionel Messi winning the Ballon d’Or. But perhaps this time, it could have been Erling Haaland.
Haaland came second in the final voting, with Mbappe third and Kevin De Bruyne in fourth place.
