At just 18 years old, Lamine Yamal had to settle for second place behind Ousmane Dembélé in this year’s Ballon d'Or voting. The Barça superstar is widely expected by most football experts to clai...
At just 18 years old, Lamine Yamal had to settle for second place behind Ousmane Dembélé in this year’s Ballon d'Or voting. The Barça superstar is widely expected by most football experts to claim the golden ball sooner or later. However, in Italy, a competitor is currently making sure that it will be later rather than sooner.
After winning the Scudetto last season, SSC Napoli carried that momentum into the current campaign. Before their away match against AC Milan, Antonio Conte’s team had won all four league games. But against the Rossoneri, Gli Azzurri suffered a 2-1 defeat, as the opponent’s star player stole the show.
At the moment, that player is not Rafael Leão or the newly signed veteran Luka Modric, but Christian Pulisic. The 27-year-old turned the match around almost single-handedly in favor of the new league leaders. He scored the equalizer himself and set up the winning goal with a run down the wing that, in its length and dynamism, was reminiscent of Gareth Bale’s legendary move.
The run from Pulisic 😮💨
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) September 29, 2025
The finish from Saelemaekers 🎯#MilanNapolipic.twitter.com/E4Sriwp3QU
The American is currently the best player in Serie A at his core business. That’s not just the opinion of an overexcited Milan fan, but is backed up by numbers. No one in the Italian top flight, even when adjusted for 90 minutes, can match him—neither in terms of goals and assists nor in efficiency.
🇺🇸⚽️ Christian Pulisic vs Serie A Players, per 90
— DataMB (@DataMB_) October 2, 2025
🥇 Goals – 1st
🥇 Goals + assists – 1st
🥇 xG + xA – 1st
🥇 Expected assists – 1st
🥇 xG outperformance – 1st
👨💼 Top 7 League profile: https://t.co/k392gmDU7Vpic.twitter.com/ASMYAIKiTz
If you’re rightly pointing out that five games aren’t a meaningful sample size, the following statistic will prove you wrong. Since his arrival in Milan, Pulisic has collected the most scorer points of any professional in Serie A—over 75 matches.
46 - Since his #SerieA debut (2023/24), Christian #Pulisic has become the player who has been directly involved in the most goals in the last three top-flight seasons: 46 (27 goals, 19 assists): overtaken Lautaro Martínez (45). Driver.#MilanNapolipic.twitter.com/K9pjI11omc
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) September 28, 2025
Did you not really notice all of this? Then you’re far from alone—and you’ve made the former Dortmund player happy. Lamine Yamal is visibly enjoying his well-deserved fame. Flashy hairstyle, diamond-studded jewelry, vacations with Neymar, and—let’s say—extraordinary parties.
All of that is far from Pulisic’s world. “I’m very lucky to be in the position I’m in, even though I don’t like all the stuff that comes with it. I don’t like taking photos with strangers. I just want to do my thing when I’m in public,” the introverted winger revealed in an interview with 'goal.com'.
Quite deliberately, the passionate chess player is avoiding a level of attention that has hardly been tapped into so far. In the co-host country of the 2026 World Cup, interest in the 80-cap US international is high, especially considering soccer’s niche status. Shortly after his transfer to Milan in the summer of 2023, investor Joe Pompliano reported that Pulisic jerseys were selling like hotcakes in the USA.
Christian Pulisic is already having a big impact at AC Milan.
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) July 19, 2023
• +266% increase in team store sales
• American buyers represented 43% (up from 9%)
• Pulisic jerseys represent 45% of all jerseys sold
Today's podcast breaks it down.
Listen: https://t.co/iMrFvuCclypic.twitter.com/1Kf5MmyCn4
Moreover, the fan favorite justifies the nickname "Captain America" not only with his role and armband. The Pennsylvania-raised pro currently has 32 goals for the Stars & Stripes. Clint Dempsey, still the joint record scorer with 57 goals, recently said in a documentary about Pulisic: “If Christian keeps playing for the national team the way he is, he’ll end up as the all-time top scorer.”
By then at the latest, the chosen one would have another argument on his side to justify a Ballon d'Or. To make it happen, he’d probably need at least a league title and an international trophy with Milan at the same time. At least for the former, Pulisic has made a good start in 2025/26. Tonight at 20:45, Juventus awaits as the next big test.
Or the 2021 Champions League winner fulfills his greatest dream. In a column for 'The Players’ Tribune' in 2017, the then 19-year-old imagined the following: “World Cup final... one minute left to play... Pulisic has the ball at his feet... and he scoooores!” If that really happens on July 19, 2026, Yamal can pack his bags.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
📸 PIERO CRUCIATTI - AFP or licensors
Category: General Sports
