The 2025 Ballon d'Or crowns Dembele

23/09/2025 11:28:00 SportScoop

Chú thích ảnh — Dembele wins the 2025 Ballon d'Or. Photo: Eurosports

Ousmane Dembele scored 35 goals and provided 16 assists in 53 appearances, helping PSG secure their first-ever Champions League title and achieve a historic treble, including Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France. Dembele's PSG even reached the final of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, narrowly losing to Chelsea in the United States.

Joining PSG in 2023 for 50 million euros after six inconsistent seasons at Barcelona, Dembele quickly became a key player. Especially since Kylian Mbappe's move to Real Madrid, Dembele has frequently been positioned centrally and has shone brilliantly at PSG.

By winning the 2025 Ballon d'Or, Dembele becomes the sixth French player to earn this prestigious award, following Raymond Kopa (1958), Michel Platini (1983, 1984, 1985), Jean-Pierre Papin (1991), Zinedine Zidane (1998), and Karim Benzema (2022).

French football now holds 8 Ballon d'Or titles, rising to the top spot, matching Argentina's record for the most Ballon d'Or winners by country.

The Ballon d'Or is an award organized by France Football magazine to honor the best individuals, teams, and coaches of the 2024-2025 season.

Dembele's biggest competitor for the award was 18-year-old Lamine Yamal, who played a major role in Barcelona’s treble win (La Liga, Copa del Rey, Spanish Super Cup) and took home the silver Ballon d'Or. Earlier at the gala, Yamal was also presented with the Kopa Trophy for the best U21 player.

Vitinha claimed the bronze. Other positions went to Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Raphinha (Barcelona), Achraf Hakimi (PSG), Mbappe (Real Madrid), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG), and Nuno Mendes (PSG).

In the women's category, Aitana Bonmati continued her dominance by winning her third consecutive Ballon d'Or, equaling Lionel Messi and Michel Platini’s record for consecutive wins. Bonmati’s teammate Vicky Lopez was also honored as the best female U21 player.

Other awards:

- Gerd Muller Award: Viktor Gyokeres (Arsenal) and Ewa Pajor (Barcelona).

- Best goalkeeper: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Man City) and Hannah Hampton (Chelsea).

- Best coach (Johan Cruyff Award): Luis Enrique (PSG) and Sarina Wiegman (England women's national team).

- PSG named best men's team of the season.

- Arsenal named best women's team of the season.

- The foundation named after Luis Enrique’s daughter won the Socrates Award.

The voting system is based on three criteria: individual achievements, team success, and career. The panel includes 100 sports journalists voting for the men's award and 50 journalists for the women's award, each selecting their top 10 nominees per category.

Each position in the Top 10 earns a specific number of points according to rank: 15 points for first place, 12 for second, 10 for third, decreasing down to 1 point for tenth place.

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