Ousmane Dembele was awarded the Ballon d’Or for his pivotal role in leading Paris Saint-Germain to their inaugural Champions League triumph, while Aitana Bonmati clinched the women’s accolade for the third consecutive year on Monday. Dembele’s achievement marks him as the sixth French player to secure this honor, following in the footsteps of Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, Zinedine Zidane, and Karim Benzema.
Bonmati claimed victory over her compatriot Mariona Caldentey from Spain. Remarkably, she becomes only the third player in the history of the award to secure a hat-trick of wins, a feat previously accomplished by Michel Platini (1983—85) and Lionel Messi (2009-12).
In a surprising turn of events, Dembele’s fortune changed drastically after being sidelined by PSG coach Luis Enrique for disciplinary issues last season. However, upon being deployed as a striker, he excelled as a prolific goal scorer and played a pivotal role in PSG’s historic Champions League journey, which culminated in a quadruple triumph for the French club.
During the Champions League final, Dembele received acclaim for his contributions to PSG’s pressing game and his defensive prowess in the resounding 5-0 victory over Inter Milan. Dembele’s win overshadowed the impressive performance of young talent Lamine Yamal. The 18-year-old Barcelona forward played a crucial role in securing La Liga and Copa del Rey titles for his team, reaching the Champions League semi-finals, and contributing to Spain’s European Championship victory in July 2024.