In September, Paris Saint-Germain talisman Ousmane Dembele was crowned as the best player on the planet as he pipped Lamine Yamal to the fabled Ballon d’Or. The Frenchman has enjoyed a blockbuster 2025, finally coming of age eight years on from that €145m move to Barcelona and emerging into the superstar that many believed him to be during his days at Borussia Dortmund.
A total of 35 goals in all competitions, as well as a famous treble, headlined by the Parisians’ first-ever UEFA Champions League title, was enough to secure him the biggest personal prize in the game, completing the ultimate career resurrection in the process.
Cole Palmer Finishes Eighth
Chelsea were well represented at the recent awards ceremony, with huge praise being heaped upon creator-in-chief Cole Palmer. The English sensation finished eighth in the overall rankings, ahead of some illustrious names such as Harry Kane, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Jude Bellingham, securing the best finish by a Blues player in four years in the process. However, both he and indeed his West London employers have some way to go when it comes to competing with PSG and Dembele on the grandest stage.
Both teams are involved in the UEFA Champions League this season, but it’s clear which team online sports betting websites fancy. The latest odds from Bovada’s sports, casino, and poker website make the reigning Parisian champions a 6/1 joint favorite to successfully go back-to-back, while Palmer and the Blues are out at 16/1. But as we saw at the FIFA Club World Cup in the summer, stranger things have happened.
Cold P’s impressive finish in this year’s Ballon d’Or got us thinking, What’s the closest any Chelsea player has come to being named as the best player in the world? Unfortunately, no Blue has ever won the coveted prize, not while turning out at Stamford Bridge anyway. Some, however, have come desperately close.
COLE PALMER PUTS CHELSEA UP 1-0! 👀
Only the 2nd goal against for PSG in the tournament 😱
— Bovada (@BovadaOfficial) July 13, 2025
Frank Lampard
Back in 2005, Frank Lampard had arrived as the premier central midfielder in England. Chelsea’s talisman shone under new Blues boss Jose Mourinho, netting 13 goals and providing a further 16 assists in the club’s successful Premier League title-winning campaign. Under the Special One, the West London club broke a slew of records, including most points, most wins, and fewest goals conceded, with Lampard being pivotal to the success.
Lamps played in all 38 of Chelsea’s league games that season, as well as featuring in 58 of all competitions as the Blues won the League Cup and the UEFA Champions League semifinals. He ultimately finished higher than Steven Gerrard in the Ballon d’Or rankings, with the Liverpool skipper positioned one place behind in third. Both of them, though, were powerless to resist the brilliance of Brazilian sensation Ronaldinho, and the Barcelona man duly scooped up the award for the first and only time in his career.
Jorginho
Italian midfielder Jorginho’s 2021 Ballon d’Or claim was fueled by one thing: Trophies. The former Napoli star was by no means the most talented player out of a cast of nominees featuring the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Mohamed Salah, all of whom the deep-lying playmaker finished ahead of. But one thing that he was that year was a serial winner.
His first major success came in the UEFA Champions League as Jorginho anchored a midfield that brought the trophy back to Stamford Bridge for only the second time. Alongside Mason Mount and N’Golo Kante, the Blues blazed their way to the final, defeating the likes of record champions Real Madrid along the way. Chelsea met Manchester City in the final and were huge underdogs to secure the trophy, but Kai Havertz’s first-half goal was enough to seal the deal and secure the title.
Jorginho started all but one of Chelsea’s UCL games en route to the crown, and at the one-year-postponed UEFA Euro 2020 tournament, he would prove similarly indispensable. The central midfielder started every single game for Italy at the competition, with the Azzurri upsetting the odds and going all the way, beating England on home turf in the final. That resulted in Jorginho securing his second huge honor in just a matter of months, but those titles couldn’t catapult him past third place in the Ballon d’Or rankings, with Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski ultimately securing the top two spots.
Didier Drogba
By 2007, Didier Drogba had long been considered as Chelsea’s talisman, but he would finally get his flowers from the wider footballing public. The Ivorian powerhouse scored a mighty 33 goals in all competitions, keeping the Blues competitive on four fronts as the campaign reached its climax. Ultimately, the club would miss out on both the Premier League and the Champions League, but Drigba would ensure that his side won the FA Cup, netting a last-gasp winner deep into extra time to down Manchester United in the first-ever final at the newly built Wembley Stadium.
Drogba’s exploits saw him finish in fourth place in the Ballon d’Or, finishing behind eventual winner Kaka, second-place Cristiano Ronaldo, and bronze medal winner Lionel Messi. The latter two of that trio would go on to dominate the coveted award for the better part of the next 15 years.