Football can be a cruel joke sometimes, right? For years, the narrative around Ousmane Dembélé was basically a list of medical reports and "what if" scenarios. He was the guy who had all the talent in the world but couldn't stay on the pitch for more than three games without pulling a hamstring. But then 2025 happened.
If you’re looking for the 2025 Ballon d'Or winner, the name etched on that golden trophy at the Théâtre du Châtelet is indeed Ousmane Dembélé.
Honestly, it feels a bit surreal to even type that. He didn't just win; he dominated. The Frenchman stood on that stage in Paris on September 22, 2025, beating out the teenage phenomenon Lamine Yamal and his own PSG teammate Vitinha. It was a night that felt like a homecoming for a player many had written off as a permanent resident of the treatment room.
How Ousmane Dembélé became the 2025 Ballon d'Or winner
The path to the 2025 Ballon d'Or winner title wasn't about one lucky goal. It was a relentless 12-month stretch where Dembélé finally stayed healthy and, under Luis Enrique, became the focal point of a post-Mbappé Paris Saint-Germain.
PSG did the unthinkable. They won the Champions League.
That was the kicker. You can score all the goals you want in Ligue 1, but if you don't show up in Europe, the Ballon d'Or voters usually look elsewhere. Dembélé didn't just show up; he was named the UEFA Champions League Player of the Season. He ended the 2024/25 campaign with a staggering 37 goals and 15 assists across all competitions. For a guy who used to struggle to reach double digits, that’s a massive jump.
He played this weird, wandering "false nine" role that basically gave him a license to destroy defenses from the center out. It worked. PSG won the treble—Ligue 1, the Coupe de France, and that elusive Champions League trophy.
The final rankings: Who else was close?
The race was actually tighter than the final points might suggest. Lamine Yamal, at just 18, nearly pulled off the impossible. If he had won, he would have been the youngest ever, but he had to settle for second place and his second consecutive Kopa Trophy.
Here is how the top of the leaderboard looked:
- Ousmane Dembélé (France, PSG) – 1380 points
- Lamine Yamal (Spain, Barcelona) – 1059 points
- Vitinha (Portugal, PSG) – 703 points
- Mohamed Salah (Egypt, Liverpool) – 657 points
- Raphinha (Brazil, Barcelona) – 620 points
It’s kind of wild to see Vitinha up there, but if you watched PSG last season, you know why. He was the engine. He did the dirty work so Dembélé could be the superstar. Mohamed Salah also had a massive year, leading the Premier League in goals, but Liverpool’s early exit from the Champions League basically killed his chances of winning the big one.
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A historic night for Aitana Bonmatí
While the men's side saw a first-time winner, the women's category was all about a dynasty. Aitana Bonmatí did it again.
She won her third consecutive Ballon d'Or Féminin. Think about that for a second. She’s now in the same rarefied air as Lionel Messi and Michel Platini—the only other players to win three in a row. Even though Barcelona lost the Champions League final, her individual brilliance was just too much to ignore. She beat out her former teammate Mariona Caldentey and Arsenal’s Alessia Russo to take the crown.
Other winners from the 2025 ceremony
The night wasn't just about the two main trophies. There were plenty of other awards handed out that tell the story of the 2024/25 season:
- Yashin Trophy: Gianluigi Donnarumma took the men's award after a stellar year with PSG before his move to Manchester City. On the women’s side, Hannah Hampton made history by winning the inaugural women’s Yashin Trophy after helping England win Euro 2025.
- Gerd Müller Trophy: Viktor Gyökeres. The man is a goal machine. He bagged 63 goals for Sporting CP and Sweden, earning a big-money move to Arsenal in the process. Ewa Pajor took the women's version.
- Johan Cruyff Trophy (Best Coach): Luis Enrique won for the men, which makes sense given the treble. Sarina Wiegman won for the women after leading the Lionesses to back-to-back Euro titles.
Why this result matters for football
The fact that the 2025 Ballon d'Or winner is Ousmane Dembélé signals a bit of a shift. We are officially out of the Messi-Ronaldo era. For a long time, it felt like the award was reserved for the same two or three guys. Now? It’s wide open.
Dembélé’s win is also a massive "I told you so" for PSG. After years of throwing money at superstars like Neymar and Messi and failing to win the Champions League, they finally did it with a team built around a more cohesive system under Enrique.
If you’re a fan or a bettor looking at next year, keep an eye on the injury reports and the tactical shifts. Dembélé won because he stayed on the pitch and his coach moved him into a position where he could actually use his pace and dribbling to create high-value chances, rather than just hugging the touchline.
Actionable Insights for Following the 2026 Race:
- Watch the Champions League Knockouts: As 2025 proved, you almost cannot win the Ballon d'Or without a deep European run.
- Track "False Nine" Transitions: Look for wingers being moved into central roles; that’s where the high-scoring stats that attract voters are generated.
- Follow the Kopa Winners: Lamine Yamal is clearly the next in line. His consistency at 18 suggests he’ll be a top-three fixture for the next decade.
The 2025 season showed us that reliability is the ultimate ability. Ousmane Dembélé finally found it, and that's why he’s the best in the world right now.