Dembele won the first Golden Ball of his career

"I don't have many words to describe. Look, it wasn't easy. This is one of the best things I've ever achieved in my career," Dembele said emotionally on stage after receiving the Ballon d'Or award from Ronaldinho.

"To win this trophy from Ronaldinho (who presented it), a legend of football, is fantastic. For the whole team and the club, it's a really great family. The teammates have been fantastic from day one, the president, from the first contact, he's been very good to me.

"I also want to thank all the staff at PSG, coach Luis Enrique has been fantastic with me and the most important person in my career.

"My teammates were amazing in 2024 and 2025, they were with me in the bad moments. This is not an individual title, but a victory for all of us."

Dembele also thanked Barcelona and Messi: "I want to thank FC Barcelona, my dream club. I played with Lionel Messi, I also want to thank him, I learned a lot from him."

337220722694012d44541e9b4051d651519f847b665072a2da7423e5800dddc1-1200-675.jpg — Lamine Yamal finished second in the Ballon d'Or race and won the Best U21 Player award for the second consecutive time.

Dembele was a mainstay for PSG in the 2024/2025 season, the Frenchman scored 35 goals and provided 14 assists in 53 appearances in all competitions. He finished as Ligue 1's top scorer with Marseille's Mason Greenwood with 21 goals, was named in the league's best XI and was named Player of the Year.

But Dembele's highlight last season was in the UEFA Champions League, when he played a major role in helping the French capital team win the championship for the first time. The striker born in 1997 scored 8 goals, including a hat-trick against Stuttgart and important goals against Liverpool and Arsenal in the round of 16 and semi-finals respectively.

Dembele’s powerful pressing in the Champions League final was a highlight of the incredible 5-0 win over Inter Milan. Dembele also contributed a lot in attack, providing two excellent assists for Kvaratskhelia and Doue.

Those performances saw him win the UEFA Champions League Player of the Season award, while he was also named in the team of the season along with six of his PSG teammates.

He became the sixth French player to win the Ballon d'Or, making France the country with the most different players to win the award, surpassing Germany and Italy with five. France are now level with Argentina for the most wins with eight. Lionel Messi has won all eight for the South American nation.

Summary of awards in the Golden Ball Awards GALA 2025

Best U21 male/female player (Kopa Trophy): Lamine Yamal - Vicky Lopez (Barcelona).

Best Men's/Women's Coach (Johan Cruyff Trophy): Luis Enrique (PSG) - Sarina Wiegman (England National Team).

Best male/female goalkeeper (Yachine Trophy): Gianluigi Donnarumma (Man City) - Hannah Hampton (Chelsea).

Best male/female striker (Gerd Muller Trophy): Viktor Gyokeres (Arsenal) - Ewa Pajor (Barcelona).

Men's/Women's Club of the Year: PSG - Arsenal Women.

Women's Golden Ball: Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona).

Men's Golden Ball: Ousmane Dembele (PSG).