Ousmane Dembélé surpasses Lamine Yamal and wins his first Ballon d'Or
Published New:23/09/2025 - 00:33h
Updated New:23/09/2025 - 02:40h
Ousmane Dembélé won the 2025 Ballon d'Or, surpassing Lamine Yamal in a close vote. The PSG winger finally obtained the award after winning the Champions League and the treble.
The Ballon d'Or already has a new 'king'. Ousmane Dembélé, after his best season as a professional player, winning the league, cup and Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain, surpassed Lamine Yamal in the vote organized by 'France Football'. The player from Vernom became the sixth French player to lift the award.
Previously, Raymond Kopa (1958), Michel Platini (1983, 1984 and 1985), Jean Pierre Papin (1991), Zinédine Zidane (1998) and Karim Benzema (2022) did the same, although none of them did so wearing the Paris Saint-Germain shirt.
In fact, only Jean Pierre Papin won the Ballon d'Or as a player for a French club (Olympique de Marseille), an added value for the 'Mosquito' in a historic year where he was also MVP of the Champions League. In the 24/25 season, Dembélé scored 35 goals and provided 16 assists in 53 games, winning a total of four titles (the French Super Cup is added to the treble).
Ousmane Dembélé surpasses Lamine Yamal: Fair decision?
Since the 2022 edition, 'France Football' has awarded the prize valuing the performance of each season and not the calendar year. That is, the 100 voters of 100 nationalities analyze what happened from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. For the current edition, three basic criteria were taken into account:
- The individual performance (statistics) of each nominee.
- The collective titles won in the season.
- The public image (Fair play) inside and outside the field.
In terms of numbers, Dembélé participated in more goals (51) than Lamine (31), although the player from Mataró provided more assists (23) than the Frenchman. In terms of titles, 'Dembouz' also had an advantage, since in addition to emulating the national treble achieved by Barça, he also won the UEFA Champions League, the most important trophy of each season.
Welcome to the Ballon d'Or family, Ousmane!#ballondor pic.twitter.com/bGHoOYsQX4
— Ballon d'Or (@ballondor) September 22, 2025
Regarding public image, both footballers had an exemplary performance the previous year inside and outside the field. In the media, Yamal is already a more powerful figure than Ousmane at 18 years old. Furthermore, in terms of form, the '10' of Barça also demonstrated in the final stretch of the 24/25 season that he was above the rest.
However, the voters were swayed by experience and individual and collective records to end up tipping the balance in favor of the Parisian '10'. This year, the vote rewarded generality over talent and current form, unlike previous years. Therefore, it is understandable that Dembélé ended up winning the Ballon d'Or.
Dembélé, very excited after receiving his first Ballon d'Or
After receiving the award from another legend of PSG and Barcelona, Ronaldinho Gaúcho, a visibly emotional Dembélé thanked the organizers and his club for the support received. In addition, he had words of gratitude for Barça and his other two previous teams for contributing to his training.
"It has been an incredible season with PSG. I have experienced great things, I am a little nervous, it is not easy. Receiving this trophy and having Ronaldinho present it to me is something exceptional. I want to thank PSG, who came to look for me in 2023," the 'Mosquito' began by saying.
In that sense, he added: "Thank you to all the teams in which I have played. At Stade Rennes, Dortmund, the club I always dreamed of, which was Barcelona. I was able to learn there alongside players like Messi and Iniesta. A whole learning experience. I am very happy."
Ousmane, for now, remains on the sidelines of the Parisian squad due to an injury to his right hamstring that will keep him out of action, at least, until mid-October. Therefore, he will miss next week's match against Barça, for the second matchday of the Champions League.
This is how the TOP-10 of the 2025 Ballon d'Or was:
- Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain)
- Lamine Yamal (FC Barcelona)
- Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain)
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
- Raphinha (FC Barcelona)
- Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain)
- Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid)
- Cole Palmer (Chelsea)
- Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City)
- Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain)
👉Check the complete ranking of the 2025 Ballon d'Or in FCBN.
Official Ballon d'Or Winners
| Player | Awards | Clubs |
|---|---|---|
| Leo Messi | 8: (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023) | FC Barcelona, PSG |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 5: (2007, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017) | Man. United, Real Madrid |
| Michel Platini | 3: (1983, 1984, 1985) | Juventus |
| Johan Cruyff | 3: (1971, 1973, 1974) | Ajax, FC Barcelona |
| Marco van Basten | 3: (1988, 1989, 1992) | AC Milan |
| Franz Beckenbauer | 2: (1972, 1976) | Bayern Munich |
| Ronaldo Nazário | 2: (1997, 2022) | FC Barcelona, Real Madrid |
| Alfredo Di Stefano | 2: (1957, 1959) | Real Madrid |
| Kevin Keegan | 2: (1978, 1979) | Hamburg |
| Karl Heinze-Rummenigge | 2: (1980, 1981) | Bayern Munich |
Another 37 players won the Ballon d'Or on a single occasion. Spain has had two winners, Luis Suárez (1960, with Barça) and Rodrigo Hernández (2024, with Manchester City).
In total, six players from the first men's team have won the Ballon d'Or, with Leo Messi (7) being the most winner. He is followed by Johan Cruyff (2), while Luis Suárez, Hristo Stoichkov (1994), Ronaldo (1997), Rivaldo (1999) and Ronaldinho (2005) won it on a single occasion.
Adding the three Ballon d'Or won by Aitana Bonmatí and the two by Alexia Putellas, Barcelona boasts 19 trophies won by its footballers. No other club boasts more winning players of the award.
