Dembélé crowned best player in the world as Ballon D'or glory overshadows Classique defeat

Ousmane Dembélé became the sixth French player to win the Ballon D'or, and the first PSG player to win it since Lionel Messi in 2021, last night at the Ballon d'Or awards gala in Paris. The PSG winger, who led his side to Champions League glory last season, clocked an impressive 35 goals and 16 assists across all competitions in the campaign.

In his speech, he thanked the club, specifically the owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who he claimed was 'like a father' to him, as well as his mother and his childhood best friend.

What could have been a disappointing night for Paris Saint Germain, as they lost the rescheduled game to Marseille that took place simultaneously a few hundred kilometers south of the gala in Paris, instead turned into a night of confirmation: they also saw their recently departed goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma win the Yashin award, which is given to the best shotstopper each year.

Ousmane Dembélé and PSG make history at Ballon d'Or ceremony

Dembélé's victory represents an impressive comeback story. The player had once been touted as one of the best young talents in the world, and when he transferred to Barcelona in summer 2017 for an eye-watering 105 million euros, the idea was that he would be able to replace Neymar as part of a front three with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

However, the Frenchman did not live up to these lofty expectations, partly due to repeated injury issues that plagued his time at Barcelona, and partly due to inconsistent form, which saw him increasingly attract the ire of the home support in Catalonia. His time in Barcelona is perhaps frustratingly best remembered for what might have been, with his awful miss in the dying seconds of the 2019 Champions League semi finals vs Liverpool often cited as particularly heinous.

Dembélé still displayed some sparks of talent at the Catalan club, enough to remain as a consistent squad member of the French national team, being part of the squad that won the World Cup in 2018 and then reached the final in Qatar four years later. However, even his biggest supporter would have struggled to imagine that he would have made the ascension to becoming the best player in the world when he signed for PSG for 50 million euros in the summer of 2023.

His first season in Paris was frankly unremarkable, as some good performances - particularly in the Champions League - only led to a meagre six goals in all competitions. However, upon the departure of Kylian Mbappe in the summer of 2024, Dembélé seems to have taken new responsibility as the team's leader, and entered a rich vein of goal-scoring form in which, for the first time in his career, he was managing to convert his brilliant raw talent into actual end product - impressive both as a creator, a finisher, and for his hard work off the ball.

Dembélé's emotion at the gala last night felt particularly touching for those who had witnessed this turbulent career path, so full of ups and downs, that led him to this eventual moment of crowning glory. In other news from the gala, Aitana Bonmati retained the Ballon D'or feminin for the third consecutive season, and Lamine Yamal (who finished a distant second to Dembélé in the Ballon d'Or rankings) won the Kopa trophy, for the best young player on the planet, for the second year in a row.

It was a good night overall for PSG players, as five of the Ballon d'Or top ten were made up of players who played at the club last season, with Dembélé and Donnarumma being joined by Nuno Mendes (10th), Achraf Hakimi (6th) and Vitinha (3rd). Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (12th), Desiré Doué (14th), Joao Neves (19th) and Fabian Ruiz (24th) also appeared in the top 30 list of nominees for the award.

Luis Enrique, who of course was not able to attend to gala due to his presence at PSG's match with Marseille, also won the 'Johan Cruyff trophy' that is awarded to the standout coach of the year. In his pre-recorded speech, he also thanked Nasser Al-Khelaifi, as well as PSG sporting director Luis Campos. It was Enrique's first time winning the award, although he also won the now defunct FIFA world coach of the year award in 2015, after winning his first treble, with Barcelona.

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