Ousmane Dembele was crowned Ballon d’Or winner in Paris as he completed one of football’s great comebacks and spearheaded a night of glory for Paris St Germain.
The 28 year old forward struck 35 goals and provided 14 assists across 53 games as PSG stormed to a treble of Champions League, Ligue 1 and French Cup titles. It marks a sensational turnaround for a player who had not hit double figures in a league season since his teenage days at Rennes.
Manager Luis Enrique deserves huge credit after shifting Dembele from the wing to centre forward in December. Before the switch he had only five goals. After it he plundered 30 more. That positional change turned him into the lethal finisher Barcelona once thought they were buying for a staggering £135m. Instead PSG picked him up for £43.5m in 2023 and have reaped the rewards.
Dembele became the sixth Frenchman to win the Ballon d’Or and the first since Karim Benzema in 2022. He edged out Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal who finished second but did take home the Kopa Trophy for the best young player for the second year running. Yamal scored 18 goals and set up 21 more for Barca last season and shone in Spain’s double triumph of La Liga and Copa del Rey.
PSG dominated the shortlist with five players in the top ten. Vitinha came third, Achraf Hakimi sixth, Gianluigi Donnarumma ninth and Nuno Mendes tenth. Liverpool star Mohamed Salah was fourth while Chelsea and England’s Cole Palmer came eighth after a breakout campaign. Last year’s winner Rodri did not even make the cut following an injury hit season at Manchester City.
Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres picked up the Gerd Muller Trophy after firing 54 goals in 52 games for Sporting plus nine in six Nations League matches for Sweden. He joined the Gunners this summer for £64m and is already seen as the man to lead their title charge.
The evening belonged to Dembele though. The forward broke down in tears on stage as he received the trophy from Ronaldinho. He missed PSG’s defeat at Marseille through injury but made sure he was in Paris to collect the prize. His mother joined him on stage as he thanked teammates and coach Enrique, calling PSG “an incredible family”.
The Ballon d’Or caps a remarkable journey from injury frustration and inconsistency to the very top of world football. After years of doubt Dembele has finally delivered on his talent and Paris St Germain have swept the honours to prove themselves kings of the game.