Tag: Dembele

France and Paris Saint-Germain attacker Ousmane Dembele won the men’s FIFA Best award at a ceremony in Qatar on Tuesday, while Barcelona midfield maestro Aitana Bonmati collected the women’s prize.

Dembele, 28, won the Ballon d’Or in September, rewarding an exceptional season with PSG, which included the Ligue 1 club’s first Champions League title.

 “I wanted to thank my teammates. Hard work pays off, it’s been a fantastic year for me, both individually and collectively,” said Dembele after the ceremony, which took place on the eve of the Intercontinental Cup final between PSG and Flamengo, also being held in Qatar.

Former Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona forward Dembele, who was part of the France team that won the World Cup in 2018, scored 35 goals in all competitions as PSG claimed a French league and cup double as well as European glory.

PSG’s Spanish coach Luis Enrique was named best coach of a men’s team, ahead of Barcelona’s Hansi Flick and Liverpool’s Premier League winning manager Arne Slot.

Bonmati, 27, was crowned women’s player of the year for the third time in a row, after also picking up her third consecutive Ballon d’Or in the autumn.

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 “I am grateful to have the honour,” she said, before thanking her team-mates and coaches, as well as the fans who voted for her.

England manager Sarina Wiegman picked up the award for coaching a women’s side after she won a third consecutive Euros title in the summer.

In the goalkeeping category, Italy’s Gianluigi Donnarumma, who joined Manchester City after winning the Champions League with PSG, picked up the men’s award, while Chelsea’s Euro 2025 winner Hannah Hampton won the trophy in the women’s category.

Santiago Montiel won the coveted Puskas award for best goal of the year thanks to his overhead kick from outside the penalty area for Independiente against Independiente Rivadavia in an Argentinian top flight match.

Lizbeth Ovalle’s scorpion kick for Tigres against Guadalajara in a Mexican league match won the Marta award.

The winners were chosen by a combined vote of fans, media representatives, captains and national team coaches for their performances between August 11, 2024 and August 2, 2025.

Ousmane Dembele, who scored in Paris St Germain’s win over Bayern Munich in the Club World Cup quarter-finals, is available for  today’s Champions League clash between the French and German champions, PSG coach Luis Enrique said.

France striker Dembele, who had scored in stoppage time when a nine-man PSG beat Bayern 2-0 in July, left the field after feeling discomfort in his right thigh at Lorient last week, and only played 18 minutes in Saturday’s Ligue 1 match against Nice.

“We do not take risks with any players. But Ousmane Dembele is fit, he has been in every training session for the last two weeks,” Luis Enrique told reporters .

“He is improving his physical fitness and he will certainly play tomorrow. I do not know for how many minutes, but he will play because he is ready to compete.”

Bayern have won every single match since their loss to European champions PSG. They have won 15 competitive matches in a row, including all nine in their Bundesliga campaign.

Both Bayern and PSG have won all three of their Champions League matches so far and are equal on goal difference.

PSG are unbeaten in their last eight competitive matches and the manager is confident of extending that streak at home against the Bavarians.

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“We know how difficult it will be. We are ready and motivated to win,” Luis Enrique said.

“I think there will be similar situations to what we saw in the United States last summer, with lots of intensity… in front of our supporters, with the atmosphere we created every game, we’re confident that we can improve our performance level to try to overcome their pressure.”

UCL: TODAY’S  MATCHES

Napoli vs. Frankfurt

Slavia Prague vs. Arsenal

Atletico vs. Saint-Gilloise

Juventus vs. Sporting CP

Liverpool vs. Madrid

Olympiakos vs. PSV

PSG vs. Bayern

Tottenham vs. Copenhagen

Ousmane Dembele looks set to make his Paris St Germain comeback after being named in the defending champions’ squad for their trip to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League  today.

The Ballon d’Or winner, who picked up a hamstring injury on September 5, features in Monday’s 21-man group alongside centre back Marquinhos, returning from a thigh injury after a layoff of almost four weeks.

Read Also: Dembele, Bonmati  scoop 2025 Ballon d’Or crowns

Forward Dembele has yet to play in the Champions League this season. PSG are third in the 36-team league after winning their first two games.

*Yamal retains Kopa Trophy for best young player

Ousmane Dembele has won the 2025 Ballon d’Or after starring in a historic season with Paris Saint-Germain.

The France international forward spearheaded Luis Enrique’s side to an unprecedented treble as they won Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and ended their long wait for UEFA Champions League glory. 

He beat rival Lamine Yamal of Barcelona to the award to cheers from the Parisian crowd as the 18-year-old had to settle for second place.

“I don’t have many words. Look, it’s not easy. It is one of the best things I have accomplished in my career,” Dembele said on stage.

“Winning this trophy from Ronaldinho [who presented it], a legend of football, is amazing.

“To all the team and the club, it’s really an incredible family. You have been amazing since the first day. The president, since the first contact, he has been exceptional with me.

“I want to also thank all the staff at PSG, my coach Luis Enrique has been amazing with me and has been the most important of my career.

“My team-mates have been amazing in 2024 and 2025, they have been with me in the bad moments. It is not an individual trophy, it is for us all to win this.”

Dembele was the creative and attacking fulcrum of his side’s spectacular season, scoring 35 goals and providing 14 assists in his 53 appearances across all competitions.

The 28-year-old former Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona winger finished as Ligue 1 joint-top scorer alongside Mason Greenwood of Marseille with 21 goals, earning a place in the team of the season and winning the league’s player of the year award.

But he earned wider acclaim for his form in Europe, where he scored eight goals, including a hat-trick against Stuttgart and crucial strikes against Liverpool and Arsenal in the last 16 and semi-finals respectively.

Dembele’s intense pressing in the Champions League final was a memorable hallmark of a remarkable 5-0 victory over Italian side Internazionale, and the forward set up two of his side’s goals in that Munich master class.

Read Also: Bonmatí is Women’s best player for third consecutive year

Those performances saw him win the Champions League player of the season award, while he was also named in the team of the season alongside six of his PSG team-mates.

Enrique backed his star man for the Ballon d’Or in the summer after another standout performance during the Club World Cup.

“To win it, you have to score goals and get assists, and they have to bring silverware to their teams,” Enrique said.

“That is Ousmane Dembele, and he is far and away above other players in my opinion.”

He added: “I think he has been our best player this season. He deserves to win everything because he gives his all to the club and has done all season.”

Barcelona superstar Yamal was widely touted to be Dembele’s closest rival for the award and so it transpired, with the Spain international coming second.

Dembele’s PSG team-mate Vitinha finished third, while Mohamed Salah of Liverpool and Barcelona’s Raphinha completed the top five.

Dembele succeeds Manchester City midfielder Rodri in claiming the sport’s most illustrious individual award, after the Spaniard’s success in 2024.

He becomes the sixth French winner of the award, making France the country with the record number of different players to claim it, ahead of Germany and Italy on five.

France has also now equalled Argentina as the country with the most overall wins on eight, although Lionel Messi won all eight of those for the South American country.

Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo shared 13 of the 15 Ballon d’Or awards between 2008 and 2023, their dominance only broken by Luka Modric in 2018 and Karim Benzema in 2022. The Ballon d’Or was not awarded in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Earlier  at the ceremony in the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, Yamal reclaimed the Kopa Trophy, while Vicky Lopez won the inaugural women’s edition of the prize for best young player.

Paris Saint-Germain were named men’s club of the year and Arsenal were the women’s club of the year, while Luis Enrique and Sarina Wiegman won the Johan Cruyff Trophies for best coaches.

The Yashin Trophy for best men’s goalkeeper went to Gianluigi Donnarumma, while England’s Hannah Hampton scooped the inaugural women’s edition.

The Women’s Ballon d’Or was claimed by Aitana Bonmati of Barcelona for a record third consecutive year.

ALL THE AWARD WINNERS

The Men’s Ballon d’Or: Ousmane Dembele (PSG)

The Women’s Ballon d’Or: Aitana Bonmati(Barcelona )

The Men’s Kopa Trophy: Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)

The Women’s Kopa Trophy : Vicky Lopez(Barcelona)

The Men’s Yashin Trophy: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG)

The Women’s Yashin Trophy : Hannah Hampton (Chelsea)

The Men’s Gerd Muller Trophy: Viktor Gyokeres (Sporting CP)

The Women’s Gerd Muller Trophy: Ewa Pajor (Barcelona)

The Men’s Johan Cruyff Trophy : Luis Enrique (PSG)

The Women’s Johan Cruyff Trophy: Sarina Wiegman (England)

The Men’s Club of the Year Trophy: Paris Saint Germain

The Women’s Club of the Year Trophy: Arsenal

Socrates Award: The Xana Foundation

Paris St Germain manager Luis Enrique is convinced forward Ousmane Dembele can improve on his 2024–25 season, when he spearheaded PSG’s treble win and emerged as one of the leading Ballon d’Or contenders.

The 28-year-old Dembele emerged from the shadow of former PSG star Kylian Mbappe last season and proved instrumental in their Champions League winning run and continued to impress in the Club World Cup, where PSG finished runners-up.

Dembele, who scored 35 goals and made 16 assists last season, kept PSG alive in last week’s UEFA Super Cup, setting up Goncalo Ramos’ 94^th -minute equaliser before new goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier drew praise for his saves in their penalty shootout win over Tottenham Hotspur.

“I think this season is a big challenge for Ousmane. Last year was incredible, yet I am convinced that he can improve his performance, without a doubt,” Luis Enrique said ahead of  today’s home game against Angers.

“You have to be very brave to say that (about Dembele), but I think he has got the level. He is a really important player for us. He has quality in attack and also in defence. I can see how happy he is; I hope this year will be even better.”

Friday’s game will be PSG’s first at the Parc des Princes in three months and mark home debuts for Chevalier and defender Illia Zabarnyi.

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The club will also present their five trophies (Ligue 1, French Cup, Champions League, French Super Cup and UEFA Super Cup) in front of the home crowd.

“It’s very important for us to see our fans again and return to the Parc des Princes after 10 away matches. We’ve really missed the stadium and the fans. We know that the atmosphere always makes a difference,” Luis Enrique said.

Asked whether ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine had caused any issues in the dressing room, with PSG’s squad now featuring Russian second-choice goalkeeper Matvei Safonov and Ukrainian defender Zabarnyi, Luis Enrique said football brought people together.

“Football is the best way to bring people together and create unity, not separation,” he said. “Sports and people come before political or economic interest of politicians.”

Paris St Germain received a boost ahead of today’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Arsenal with Ousmane Dembele passed fit as the French champions look to turn growing squad cohesion into a place in the final.

Dembele, who scored the only goal in last week’s 1-0 win at the Emirates Stadium, picked up a muscle injury during that match but will be available at the Parc des Princes.

“He has been training with the squad for two days so he is available for tomorrow,” PSG coach Luis Enrique told a press conference on Tuesday.

It is welcome news for a PSG side whose progress this season has been built less on individual brilliance and more on the kind of collective spirit and tactical maturity that has often eluded them in past European campaigns.

Luis Enrique, brought in to overhaul a team once shaped around marquee stars, has made no secret of his mission to build a unit capable of competing at the highest level.

“This season we’ve grown so much as a team,” he said. “You have to be ready for any scenario and pay attention from start to finish. The target for the coming years is to keep improving the process,” he said when asked about last season’s semi-final loss to Borussia Dortmund.

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That steady evolution was evident in the first leg in London where PSG’s compact shape, aggressive pressing and controlled possession frustrated Arsenal’s attacking rhythm.

Defender Achraf Hakimi said the team’s new-found identity had been key to their run.

“The key is to show our personality with and without the ball and press high,” Hakimi said. “Arsenal will need to feel that the Parc des Princes is our home.”

PSG’s only Champions League final appearance ended in defeat by Bayern Munich in 2020, while Arsenal’s sole final was in 2006 when they lost to Barcelona in Paris.

“We will have to be as good as last week, but while many expect the same kind of game, I guarantee you it will be completely different,” said Luis Enrique.

The winners will face Inter Milan or Barcelona  in the May 31 final in Munich.