Ousmane Dembele Wins 2025 Ballon d'Or After Leading PSG to Champions League Glory
Ousmane Dembele has been crowned the 2025 Ballon d’Or winner, capping off a historic season with Paris Saint-Germain that delivered the club’s first-ever Champions League title. The French forward, once plagued by inconsistency and injury setbacks, realized his long-discussed potential during the 2024-25 campaign and emerged as the face of PSG’s new era.
Ousmane Dembele wins the 2025 Ballon d’Or after guiding PSG to a historic Champions League triumph, completing a remarkable career redemption.
Getty Images
Paris Saint-Germain, guided by Luis Enrique, became European champions for the first time since the club’s founding in 1970. The team’s tiki-taka-inspired possession game defined their season, and Dembele was the centerpiece of their success. His performances not only secured trophies but also marked the completion of a personal journey from early struggles to football’s greatest individual honor.
Dembele’s career once appeared weighed down by expectations following his €135 million transfer to Barcelona in 2017. His time at Camp Nou was characterized by flashes of brilliance mixed with long stretches of injury and inconsistency. Even after Xavi’s arrival improved his form, questions persisted about his durability and ability to fulfill his potential. That narrative shifted when he left Barcelona for PSG in 2023, embracing a fresh start in his home country.
Initially playing alongside Kylian Mbappe, Dembele delivered steady performances, but his transformation came after Mbappe’s 2024 move to Real Madrid. With Enrique reshaping PSG’s attack, Dembele transitioned from a winger to a central striker, producing an extraordinary run of form that powered PSG through domestic dominance and European success. Sixteen of his 21 league goals arrived between December and March, cementing his role as the team’s leader.
The Champions League campaign underscored his influence. Except for a single knockout match against Liverpool, Dembele contributed goals or assists in every decisive fixture, embodying both attacking creativity and tireless defensive pressing. His performances helped PSG eliminate Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Inter en route to their historic triumph.
Dembele’s Ballon d’Or victory also reshaped the narrative of his long-standing comparison with Mbappe. Once considered the lesser of the two French talents who broke through in 2016-17, Dembele outshone his compatriot during the 2024-25 season. Even Mbappe acknowledged Dembele’s rise, stating publicly that his vote for the award went to his former PSG teammate.
The recognition was echoed across football. PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, coach Luis Enrique, France boss Didier Deschamps, and teammates like Ibrahima Konate and Paul Pogba all highlighted Dembele’s leadership, statistics, and decisive role in PSG’s treble-winning campaign. Former professionals, including Gareth Bale, also endorsed his claim as the standout player of the season.
Young Barcelona star Lamine Yamal, widely regarded as the sport’s next generational talent, was among those tipped for the award. At just 18 years old, his performances were historic, yet his club’s Champions League exit against Inter and the outstanding contributions of other teammates meant Dembele’s case was stronger.
Dembele himself described winning the Ballon d’Or as the fulfillment of a childhood dream, recalling memories of watching the award ceremony on French television as a boy. Overcoming years of injury frustrations and underachievement, the PSG forward now joins football’s most elite list of individual winners.
