Ousmane Dembele wins ballon d’Or as PSG clinch historic season

images: Supersport 

Ousmane Dembele

by Lwandiso Simanga 

Paris Saint-Germain winger Ousmane Dembele was awarded the Ballon d’Or on Monday, recognizing his decisive role in PSG’s Champions League triumph last season. Spain’s Aitana Bonmati secured the women’s prize for the third consecutive year.

Dembele, 28, edged out Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal to succeed Manchester City midfielder Rodri, last year’s winner of football’s most prestigious individual award. Once dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the trophy now belongs to the Frenchman who scored 35 goals across all competitions.

Following Kylian Mbappe’s departure to Real Madrid, Dembele was converted into a centre-forward by coach Luis Enrique. The shift proved decisive as PSG completed a domestic double and captured their first Champions League title with a resounding 5-0 victory over Inter Milan in Munich.

On stage at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, Dembele expressed his gratitude. “I really do not have the words. It was an incredible season with PSG,” he said, crediting Enrique, who also won Club Coach of the Year, as “like a father.” He stressed the collective effort behind his award: “It is an individual trophy but it was really the collective that won it.”

Yamal, 18, received the Kopa Trophy for best under-21 player for the second consecutive year. The rising star had been Dembele’s teammate at Barcelona when he first broke into the senior squad in 2023.

While Dembele collected his award in Paris, PSG fell 1-0 to Marseille in a rescheduled Ligue 1 match, postponed a day earlier due to bad weather in southern France.