Ousmane Dembélé has been crowned the world’s best, edging Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal to claim the 2025 Ballon d’Or after a record-breaking season that delivered Paris Saint-Germain their first Champions League title.
Dembélé, 28, scored 35 goals and provided 16 assists in 53 games as PSG stormed to a historic treble, lifting Ligue 1, the Coupe de France, and their long-awaited European crown. The French forward also helped his side reach the Club World Cup final in the summer, where Chelsea denied them a perfect year.
The Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris was the stage for Dembélé’s crowning moment. Receiving the trophy from Ronaldinho, he was visibly emotional, thanking PSG for believing in him after his move from Barcelona in 2023. “What just happened to me is incredible. I’m speechless,” he admitted, before praising Luis Enrique for guiding his revival.
The victory completes a remarkable turnaround. Signed by Barça for over €100 million in 2017, Dembélé often battled injuries and inconsistency in Spain. At PSG, however, he has flourished. Freed from Kylian Mbappé’s shadow, he stepped into a central role, showing the cutting edge many believed he had lost.
His triumph makes him only the sixth Frenchman to win the Ballon d’Or, joining legends like Zinedine Zidane and Karim Benzema. For a player once seen as a wasted talent, the symbolism was powerful. PSG fans celebrated outside the Paris venue, their chants echoing the pride of a club finally seeing one of their own recognized at the very top.
The main rival was Yamal, Barcelona’s teenage sensation, who lit up LaLiga with decisive goals and creativity. He inspired Barça to a domestic treble of their own, winning the league, Copa del Rey, and Supercopa. Though he fell short in the Champions League semifinal, the 18-year-old collected the Kopa Trophy, a nod to his future greatness.
Barcelona also celebrated Aitana Bonmatí’s third straight Ballon d’Or Féminin, cementing her dominance in the women’s game. Elsewhere, Arsenal striker Viktor Gyökeres and Barça’s Ewa Pajor shared the Gerd Müller trophy for most goals, while PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was honored alongside Chelsea’s Hannah Hampton.
Luis Enrique was named men’s coach of the year, a fitting reward for leading PSG to new heights, while Sarina Wiegman earned the women’s accolade after another year of consistency with England.
Dembélé, though, remained the night’s defining story. “We’ve won almost everything,” he reflected, insisting the trophy belonged as much to his teammates as it did to him. For PSG, a club long haunted by European disappointment, his Ballon d’Or marks more than individual glory. It signals their arrival as football’s new powerhouse.
