Paris Saint-Germain Forward Hausmandembele won the Ballon d’Or in 2025. Dembele, 28, has been confirmed as a winner at a spectacular awards ceremony held in Paris tonight (Monday).
Barcelona Teen Sensation Ramin Yamal finished second, while Dembele’s PSG teammate Vitanya came in third. Dembele recorded an incredible 51 goals involved in 59 games in the 2024/25 season, winning the season’s League 1 player, League 1 Golden Boots and the season’s Champions League player titles. He helped PSG win the historic quadratic campaign in the Champions League, League 1 titles, Coupede France and the Super Cup in France.
He saw a race with Barcelona genius Ramin Yamal, who scooped up the Copa Trophy for the world’s best young player in the evening. For Dembele, it marks the end of an extraordinary transformation of his career.
In the summer of 2017, Dembele signed a breathtaking £135.5 million when the Catalan was 20 years old, after enjoying a promising campaign with Borussia Dortmund, who contributed six goals and 12 assists. At the time, they were under the radar as PSG acquired Neymar from a record of breaking £200 million.
Dembele, tasked with effectively replacing Brazilian wizards, always found life at Know Camp difficult. Things got even more intense when he suffered about 14 muscle injuries, and he missed 799 days for club and country injuries and 141 games.
There have been frequent criticisms about his professionalism away from the pitch, and as a result, Lariga’s powerhouse reportedly hires chefs to help him maintain a diet worthy of one of the best players in the world. As Barcelona suffers from financial difficulties, PSG signed him on a deal worth £43.5 million.
He arrived when Killian Mbappe captained Parisians and became their main star. As the French departed for Real Madrid a year later, Dembele moved to a central position and was commissioned by Luis Enrique to lead the press.
His many painful moments, including acknowledging a penalty against Argentina’s first goal in the final defeat of the 2022 World Cup in France, all peaked with his emotional victory.
Dembele struggled to hold back tears when he collected the awards. He thanked his former teammates, coaches, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona and PSG colleagues. He also got emotional when he spoke about his mother, who was sitting in the crowds of the French capital.
He missed the entire ceremony as PSG’s clash with Away Marseille was placed again tonight. However, Dembele is still recovering from the injuries he suffered during France’s recent clash with Ukraine on an international break.
Meanwhile, his side was defeated 1-0 at the stud velodrome. Former West Ham United star Knife Aguerdo’s goal was enough to secure a surprising victory against the Champions League owners.
