Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembele has claimed his first Ballon d'Or, capping a remarkable individual and team season that saw the French club dominate the 2025 awards ceremony in the French capital.
The 28-year-old forward delivered a stellar campaign with 35 goals and 14 assists in 53 appearances across all competitions, helping PSG secure a historic treble — lifting the Champions League, Ligue 1 title, and French Cup. Dembele shared the Ligue 1 Golden Boot with 21 goals and was named both the Ligue 1 and Champions League player of the year.
He also played a pivotal role in guiding PSG to the Club World Cup final, where they narrowly lost to Chelsea in New Jersey.
Despite PSG having a league match on Monday night — a rescheduled 1-0 defeat to Marseille due to an earlier storm — Dembele was in attendance at the Ballon d’Or gala, where he was visibly emotional upon receiving the award. Sidelined by injury, he missed the match and was able to take the stage in tears, joined by his mother.
"What I have just experienced is exceptional, I have no words for it," said Dembele. "What happened with PSG is incredible. I feel a bit of stress — it’s not easy to win this trophy — and to have it presented by Ronaldinho, a football legend, is exceptional."
He expressed deep gratitude to PSG, which signed him for £43.5m in 2023 — a stark contrast to the £135.5m fee Barcelona had paid Borussia Dortmund for him in 2017.
"I want to thank PSG who came to get me in 2023. It's an incredible family. The president Nasser [Al-Khelaifi] is like a father to me. I also want to thank the coach and all the staff, who have been exceptional with me — he too is like a father — and all my teammates. We have practically won everything together. This individual trophy is one the team has won collectively."
Dembele’s resurgence was driven by a tactical shift from manager Luis Enrique — who was named Coach of the Year — that saw the forward moved centrally in mid-December against Lyon. At that point, Dembele had only five goals to his name. From then on, he netted an astonishing 30 goals for PSG.
The award marks a triumphant return to form for a player who had not scored double digits in a league season since his teenage years at Rennes.
Dembele also scored twice in seven appearances for France in the 2024–25 season. He becomes the sixth Frenchman — and only the second in the 21st century after Karim Benzema in 2022 — to win the Ballon d’Or.
Barcelona’s 18-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal finished second in the voting but won the Kopa Trophy for best young player.
Source: BBC
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