Ousmane Dembele's Humble Path to the Ballon d'Or

PARIS, TUESDAY — Ousmane Dembele has returned the Ballon d'Or trophy, awarded by France Football, to a French player. Thanks to his impressive personal performance and Paris Saint-Germain's treble-winning campaign, Dembele became the sixth French player to be awarded the "Golden Ball," the world's most prestigious football award.

PSG's success in winning the French League, Coupe de la Ligue, and Champions League during the 2024-2025 season is inextricably linked to Dembele's performance revolution. The 28-year-old emerged as Les Parisiens' new skipper under coach Luis Enrique after Kylian Mbappé left for his idol club, Real Madrid.

In addition to being adorned with trophies and gold medals, Dembele marked his best professional season with a collection of 35 goals and 16 assists in 53 matches. This statistical record proves that Dembele thoroughly enjoyed his season with PSG.

For the first time since breaking into the main team of Rennes during the 2015-2016 season, Dembele has played 50 matches in a single season. This goal tally is also his highest scoring quantity in 12 years of his career at the top level of football.

Nevertheless, Dembele proved himself to remain humble as he did not overly celebrate the Ballon d'Or 2025 ceremony, which took place on Tuesday (23/9/2025) in the early hours of WIB at the Chatelet Theatre, Paris, France.

Unlike other players who are willing to rent super expensive outfits and rent luxury private vehicles, Dembele appeared as he was to welcome his first Ballon d'Or award.

"Today (Monday) I went about my normal routine. I started with morning training to recover from my injury. I arrived here at 8:00 p.m. with Desire (Doue) and Joao (Neves). We had agreed to leave together from the Parc des Princes (PSG's headquarters)," Dembele told L'Equipe about his preparations for the Ballon d'Or ceremony.

Three PSG players are currently injured, thus they did not join the team competing against Marseille on Tuesday WIB, at the Velodrome Stadium, Marseille. In that match of the fifth week of the 2025-2026 French League, PSG suffered a defeat of 0-1.

"I haven't planned any celebrations. Even if there were, I wouldn't have planned any," Dembele said.

While Dembele hasn't planned any celebrations, PSG's ultras are doing something different. According to France Football, hundreds of thousands of PSG fans packed the area around the Chatelet Theatre to welcome PSG's first French player to win the Ballon d'Or.

Clearly, the welcome for Dembele was much more festive compared to when Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or 2023 while being a player for Les Parisiens.

PSG ultras lit red flares and fireworks. They also chanted slogans for Dembele, deafening the crowds in the area.

Dembele follows in the footsteps of five of his senior compatriots from France who have already experienced being at the pinnacle of the world. They are Michel Platini, who won three Ballon d'Or awards, followed by four other players who each won one Ballon d'Or, namely Raymond Kopa, Zinedine Zidane, Jean-Pierre Papin, and Karim Benzema.

"This trophy has never been a personal goal of mine. On an individual level, having this trophy is a blessing. I am happy and proud," said Dembele.

"Of course, this is for my teammates, the coach, and the entire staff. It's also for all my fans and the PSG supporters," he added.

When PSG and Brazil legend, Ronaldinho, called his name on stage to receive the Ballon d'Or trophy, also known as the "Football Oscar," Dembele immediately embraced his two parents. He also took a moment to hug his former teammate, Gianluigi Donnarumma, who is now wearing the Manchester City jersey.

He smiled when receiving the trophy from Ronaldinho, but Dembele could not hold back the tears that welled up in his eyes. His voice was hoarse as he began his acceptance speech.

"I don't actually want to cry. However, when talking about my family and the people who have contributed to my life, the tears just come out. I can't hold them back," said Dembele.

Dembele is at the top of the Ballon d'Or winners list, evaluated by 100 journalists from countries ranked in the top 100 of the FIFA rankings. He surpassed the phenomenal Barcelona star, Lamine Yamal, and his teammate, Vitinha.

The Ballon d'Or 2025 marks a historic moment for PSG. Seven key players relied upon by Enrique in the 2024-2025 season have made it to the list of the top 15 candidates for this year's Ballon d'Or.

In addition to Dembele and Vitinha, there are also Achraf Hakimi (sixth place), Donnarumma (ninth), Nuno Mendes (tenth), Kvicha Kvaratskhelia (twelfth), and Desire Doué (fourteenth). Donnarumma was awarded the Yashin Trophy 2025, which recognizes the best goalkeeper during the 2024-2025 season. Italian legend Gianluigi Buffon announced this and presented the trophy to Donnarumma.

Meanwhile, Enrique was awarded the title of Best Coach through the Johan Cruyff Trophy 2025. Enrique was not present at the award ceremony as he was accompanying his team in their match against Marseille. Meanwhile, Yamal took home the entertainment trophy in the form of the Kopa Trophy 2025, which is designated for the best young player.

"This is a historic day for the club. It feels wonderful. This is the result of collective work that allows us to win everything. It is not about individuals, but rather the work of everyone," said PSG President Nasser al-Khelaifi, who was present at the event.

"This individual award aligns with our expectations at PSG. This is our goal as a step to move forward together. We will not be satisfied and will continue to pursue trophies," said Al-Khelaifi. (REUTERS)