Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has weighed in on the debate over who should win the 2025 Ballon d'Or.
After winning a domestic trophy treble, the 30-player shortlist has four Barcelona players included, with Lamine Yamal the favourite to finish highest from Hansi Flick's team.
PSG's quadruple - including a first-ever UEFA Champions League crown - means a whopping nine members of Luis Enrique's squad are named - with Ousamane Dembele their predicted leading light.
There are some outside shouts, with Kylian Mbappe's sensational first season at Real Madrid enough to secure a nomination, despite the Spanish giants not winning a trophy.
If Lamine Yamal wins the award, he will become the youngest recipient since Ronaldo Nazario clinched it in 1997, aged 21 years, three months and five days.
No.2 on the youngest-ever Ballon d'Or list is Gerrard's old Liverpool teammate Michael Owen and he insists the ex-England international was as good as anyone at the start of his career.
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Gerrard drops Lamine Yamal vs. Michael Owen comparison
Owen's early years at Anfield earmarked him for greatness as his pace and ruthless finishing menaced Premier League defences.
Injuries and a controversial move to Real Madrid - and later Manchester United - led to criticism from some Liverpool fans but his teenage record remains untouched.
He still holds the record for the most Premier League goals scored as a teenager, with 40 in just 79 matches. He also scored the most EPL goals as teenager in a single calendar year, with 25 in 1998.
In 2001, he won the FA Cup, EFL Cup and UEFA Cup [the Europa League predecessor], and in 2002 he clinched the Ballon d'Or aged 22.
28 goals scored in both the 2002/03 and 2003/04 seasons was a sensational tally for such an emerging player and Gerrard believes that starting level matches Lamine Yamal and Mbappe.
"Those two are chasing the Ballon d’Or, but only Owen has got one," as per Liverpool.com.
"You have to respect the fact Michael Owen was voted the best player in the world. I played with him. He was an incredible teenager.
"I’d have to say Michael Owen [was better at 18]. But what I would say is Mbappe and Lamine Yamal – wow, they’re going to be two incredible players."
Owen ended his eight seasons in the Liverpool first team with 158 goals scored in 297 games - placing him 9th on the club's all-time top scorer list.
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