France

PSG's Ousmane Dembélé wins 2025 Men's Ballon d'Or

Published SEP 23 2025

Story

Above: Ousmane Dembélé poses with the Men’s Ballon d’Or trophy at Theatre Du Chatelet on Sept. 22, 2025, in Paris, France. Image credit: Kristy Sparow/UEFA/Getty Images

The Facts

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward Ousmane Dembélé won the 2025 men's Ballon d'Or at the ceremony held at Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on Monday, becoming the sixth Frenchman to claim the award after Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, Zinedine Zidane and Karim Benzema.
Al Jazeera
Daily Mail
The New York Times
Dembélé scored 35 goals and recorded 17 assists in 53 games during the 2024-25 season as PSG won the Champions League, Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and the Trophée des Champions. At the beginning of the 2025-26 season, PSG also won the European Super Cup against Tottenham Hotspur.
psg.fr
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal finished as runner-up for the men's award and won the Kopa Trophy for best young player for the second consecutive year, having helped Barcelona win La Liga and the Copa del Rey last season with 18 goals and 21 assists in 55 games.
UEFA.com
FC Barcelona
Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati claimed the women's Ballon d'Or for the third consecutive year, making her only the third player in the award's history to achieve this feat after Michel Platini and Lionel Messi.
Sky Sports
Al Jazeera
Goal.com
England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton became the first winner of the women's Yashin Trophy following England's Euro 2025 victory and winning a domestic treble with Chelsea, with the award presented by Mary Earps.
Sky Sports
The Telegraph
The New York Times
England manager Sarina Wiegman won the Johan Cruyff Trophy for best women's coach following the Lionesses' European Championship triumph, while PSG's Luis Enrique claimed the men's coaching award.
UEFA.com
The Telegraph
Metro

Sources Split

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The Spin

Narrative A

Dembélé's triumph feels like redemption. From being deemed a flop at Barcelona and plagued by a series of injuries to leading PSG to a quadruple and their first Champions League title, the French forward has silenced doubters and rightly earned the sport's highest individual honor.

Al Jazeera

Reuters

Narrative B

Dembélé's achievement stems largely from PSG's superior resources and tactical system rather than pure individual merit. Yamal's creativity and technical brilliance at just 18 years old was by far a more impressive personal campaign despite Barcelona's shortcomings in the Champions League.