French football sensation Ousmane Dembélé has been crowned the 2025 Men’s Ballon d’Or winner, etching his name into soccer history as the sixth French player to claim the prestigious award. The 28-year-old winger, born on May 15, 1997, in Vernon, Normandy, to a Malian father and Mauritanian-Senegalese mother, rose from humble beginnings in local clubs like ALM Évreux and Évreux FC 27 to become a global icon. His electrifying performances for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and the French national team during the 2024-25 season propelled him to the top of the voting by an international panel of journalists, marking a triumphant resurgence after years marred by injuries.
Dembélé’s journey to the golden ball has been one of raw talent tempered by adversity. Breaking into professional football with Rennes in 2015, he dazzled in his debut Ligue 1 season with six goals and 14 assists, earning a €15 million move to Borussia Dortmund in 2016. There, the explosive right winger – known for his ambidextrous dribbling, blistering pace, and clinical finishing – notched 12 goals and 20 assists in 2016-17, including a memorable Champions League strike against Legia Warsaw. His €105 million transfer to Barcelona in 2017 made him the joint-second most expensive player ever at the time, alongside Paul Pogba. Despite winning three La Liga titles (2017-18, 2018-19, 2020-21), two Copa del Rey trophies, and two Supercopa de España honors, Dembélé’s Barcelona spell was overshadowed by persistent injuries, limiting him to 40 goals in 178 appearances over six seasons.
Returning to France in August 2023 for €50.4 million, Dembélé rediscovered his form at PSG, contributing 17 goals and 24 assists in his first 88 games across all competitions. The 2024-25 campaign defined his legacy: 33 goals and 15 assists in 49 appearances, leading Ligue 1 in scoring and earning him Ligue 1 Player of the Year and UEFA Champions League Player of the Season accolades. Key highlights included a stoppage-time winner in the Trophée des Champions against Monaco on January 5, a pivotal goal in a 4-2 Champions League comeback over Manchester City on January 22, and a historic hat-trick – his first in European competition – in a 4-1 rout of VfB Stuttgart on January 29, securing PSG’s knockout qualification. These exploits powered PSG to a continental treble: Ligue 1, Coupe de France, and UEFA Champions League titles, a first in club history.
Internationally, Dembélé’s contributions have been stellar, amassing over 120 career goals for club and country. He played a key role in France’s 2018 FIFA World Cup triumph, scoring in the knockout stages, and featured in the Euro 2020, 2022 World Cup (runners-up), and Euro 2024 squads. His crowning moment came in a 14-0 Euro 2024 qualifying demolition of Gibraltar on November 18, 2023, the largest win in Les Bleus’ history.
Dembélé’s Ballon d’Or victory adds to France’s storied legacy in the award, first introduced by France Football in 1956 to honor the continent’s top player. The nation now boasts six winners: Raymond Kopa (1958), Michel Platini (three-time: 1983-85), Jean-Pierre Papin (1991), Zinedine Zidane (1998), Karim Benzema (2022), and now Dembélé – the first since Benzema to break the Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo dominance that spanned 2008-2021. At 28, he joins an elite club of French icons who redefined the game, silencing early critics who dubbed him inconsistent amid his Barcelona struggles.
“It’s an incredible honor,” Dembélé said in his emotional acceptance speech at the Théâtre du Châtelet. “This golden ball is for my family, who sacrificed everything; my teammates at PSG, who believed in me; and the fans who never stopped cheering. From the streets of Évreux to this stage – it’s proof that perseverance pays off.”
The 2025 race was a nail-biter, with Dembélé narrowly edging out rivals like Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham. His win underscores a career total of over 120 goals and a market value soaring to €95 million, highlighting his evolution from prodigy to proven champion.