Dembele wins Ballon d'Or as PSG seal historic treble

Ousmane Dembele of Paris St-Germain has won the Ballon d'Or, the award for the world’s best male footballer, for the first time. The 28-year-old France forward scored 35 goals and provided 14 assists in 53 matches for PSG last season as they completed the treble, including their first Champions League title. He finished as Ligue 1’s joint top scorer with 21 goals and was named the Ligue 1 player of the year and the Champions League player of the year. Dembele also helped PSG reach the Club World Cup final, where they lost to Chelsea in New Jersey. He attended the ceremony in Paris and was moved to tears on stage, even as PSG prepared for a league match that night.

Dembele beat Barcelona teenager Lamine Yamal to the prize and was visibly emotional on stage. He remains sidelined by injury and did not play in PSG’s 1-0 home defeat by Marseille, a match rearranged because of a storm.

Dembele’s breakout run came after a tactical shift by PSG manager Luis Enrique in mid-December. He moved the forward from a wide right role to a centre-forward position against Lyon on December 15, by which stage he had only five goals. From that date onward he scored 30 goals for PSG, helping turn a difficult season into a historic one. PSG had signed him from Barcelona in 2023 for £43.5 million, a fraction of the £96.8 million initial fee Barcelona paid to sign him in 2017, and the deal now looks like a bargain for a club that dominated the 2025 Ballon d’Or awards. Dembele also scored twice in seven appearances for France in 2024-25.

Lamine Yamal finished second to Dembele and also won the Kopa Trophy for the best young player, the second consecutive year he has taken the award. The Barcelona winger, 18, scored 18 goals and assisted 21 times in 55 games, helping Spain to win the domestic double of La Liga and the Copa del Rey. He also helped Spain reach the Nations League final, where they lost on penalties to Portugal after a 5-4 semi-final win over Dembele’s France, with Yamal scoring twice in that clash.

PSG and Portugal midfielder Vitinha finished third, while Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah was fourth. Chelsea’s Cole Palmer finished eighth. Last year’s winner, Rodri of Manchester City and Spain, did not make the shortlist after an injury‑hit campaign.

Viktor Gyokeres, the Arsenal forward who joined the club in a deal worth up to £64 million in the summer, won the Gerd Muller Trophy, awarded to the top scorer in European club and national-team football for the 2024-25 season. Gyokeres netted 54 goals in 52 games for Sporting Lisbon, including nine in six Nations League appearances for Sweden. The prize highlights the cross‑border nature of the Ballon d’Or celebrations, which also recognized Gyokeres’ prolific form at club and international level.

Lamine Yamal captured the Kopa Trophy for the best young player for the second year in a row, becoming the first player to win it twice since the award’s creation in 2018. The Barcelona youngster contributed 18 goals and 21 assists in 55 games for club and country and helped Spain to reach the Nations League final and secure a domestic double last season. The ceremony underscored PSG’s deep imprint on the Ballon d’Or podium, with Dembele’s win representing a personal career renaissance that coincides with the club’s most successful season in history.