PSG star Ousmane Dembele wins first Ballon d'Or

After last year's Ballon d'Or gala was a big surprise and created a lot of controversy when Rodri was named the winner of the award when everyone thought Vinicius was the favourite, the 2025 edition has not followed the same pattern.

The vast majority of fans had Ousmane Dembele as their favourite, who has been named winner of the 2025 Ballon d'Or ahead of Lamine Yamal and X. There were some doubts as to whether the 18-year-old Barcelona winger could take the award away from the Frenchman, but the PSG striker has been in such impressive form that it was inevitable that he would be the man of the night at the Théâtre du Châtelet. 

Trained in the youth ranks of Stade Rennais, Dembele made his professional debut on 6 November 2015 in Ligue 1, becoming one of the most promising players in French football at just 18 years of age, scoring 12 goals and providing 5 assists that season. 

After his breakthrough season, Borussia Dortmund managed to sign the French winger in the summer of 2016 for €15 million, although his stay at the Signal Iduna Park was very short-lived, albeit successful. Dembele scored 10 goals and provided 21 assists and was named the Bundesliga's best young player that season, which earned him a move to FC Barcelona in August 2017 for around €105 million as a replacement for Neymar. 

His time at Barcelona (2017-2023) was probably the darkest period of his career, despite winning several titles with the Catalans (La Liga x3, Copa del Rey x2 and Spanish Super Cup x2). Recurring muscle injuries coupled with rumours of a lack of professionalism meant that he was never warmly welcomed by the Catalan fans, and after scoring 40 goals and providing 43 assists in 185 games for the Catalans, he left for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2023 when the Parisian team paid the E50 million release clause in his contract. 

Since arriving at PSG, Dembele has become a key player for Luis Enrique, although his goal contributions were not as expected in his first season at the Parc des Princes. The French winger scored just three goals and provided eight assists in all competitions in the 2023/24 season, averaging 0.36 G/A per game, something that would change significantly the following season. 

Stellar 2024/25 season

As if he were a different player, the 'Mosquito' improved his goal-scoring output in the 2024/25 season in an unexpected way. The French winger reached his footballing maturity under Luis Enrique, who gave him more positional freedom by not having to attack only down the right wing, making him an unpredictable player for opposing defences. 

In this way, Dembele became one of the most prolific attackers in Europe, recording 35 goals and 15 assists in 53 official matches, of which only 39 were as a starter. In fact, it is not only his great output in attack that is noteworthy, as Luis Enrique often praised Dembele's work ethic and even after winning the Champions League final said that he should win the Ballon d'Or for how he defended against Inter. 

"I would give the Ballon d'Or to Ousmane Dembele for the way he defended in this final. That's what you call leading a team. I sincerely believe he deserves the Ballon d'Or, without a doubt, not just for the titles he won or the goals he scored, but for his pressing," said the Spanish coach. 

Ousmane Dembele has been the leader of a Paris Saint-Germain team that, despite suffering a painful 3-0 defeat to Chelsea in the Club World Cup final, have had the most successful season in their history, winning five titles in 2025 so far (French Super Cup, Ligue 1, French Cup, Champions League, and European Super Cup).