Paris St-Germain attacker Ousmane Dembele lifted his first Ballon d’Or at the Paris ceremony as the French champions swept several of the main men’s awards.
The 28-year-old struck 35 times and provided 14 assists across 53 appearances last season as PSG captured the Champions League, Ligue 1, and French Cup. He was joint top scorer in Ligue 1 with 21 goals and also recognized as the best player in both Ligue 1 and the Champions League.
Dembele additionally helped the Parisians reach the Club World Cup final, where they were beaten by Chelsea in New Jersey. He edged Barcelona teenager Lamine Yamal for the accolade and was visibly emotional on stage alongside his mother, with Ronaldinho presenting the trophy.
The Frenchman missed PSG’s 1-0 loss at Marseille because of injury but called the award an extraordinary moment, thanking president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, coach Luis Enrique, staff, and teammates for their support.
Career revival and team honours
Dembele’s achievement marks a turnaround for a player who had not reached double digits in a league campaign since his Rennes breakthrough. Enrique’s tactical switch in December, placing him as a central striker, transformed his output. Having scored just five goals by mid-December, he netted 30 more in the following months.
PSG paid £43.5m to sign him in 2023, far less than the record sum Barcelona had once invested in him. Alongside club glory, he also added two international goals in seven appearances for France during 2024-25.
He became the sixth French player to claim the award and only the second this century after Karim Benzema in 2022. Yamal, who finished second, collected the Kopa Trophy for best young player. PSG teammates Vitinha (third), Achraf Hakimi (sixth), Gianluigi Donnarumma (ninth), and Nuno Mendes (10th) all featured in the top ten. Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah was fourth, and Chelsea’s Cole Palmer was eighth. Last year’s winner, Manchester City midfielder Rodri, was absent from the shortlist.
PSG themselves were recognized as team of the year.
Other award winners
Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres earned the Gerd Muller Trophy after netting 54 goals for Sporting and nine for Sweden before sealing a summer switch to North London. The honor, given to the highest scorer in European football for club and country, had last year been shared by Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe.
Barcelona’s Yamal claimed the Kopa Trophy for a second successive season, becoming the first player to do so since its creation in 2018. He managed 18 goals and 21 assists in 55 outings, including strikes in three different Clasicos, and played a key role in Spain’s Nations League run.
Luis Enrique was named coach of the year after guiding PSG to their first Champions League crown and a treble. He was the second manager, after Pep Guardiola, to achieve trebles with two clubs. He was absent from the gala as PSG faced Marseille, but his family’s Xana Fundacion received the Socrates Award for humanitarian work.
Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma secured his second Yashin Trophy, credited with 17 clean sheets in 47 matches for PSG before moving to Manchester City for £26m. Liverpool’s Alisson Becker was runner-up, while Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez, winner in the previous two editions, placed eighth.