Ousmane Dembele Claims Ballon dOr Ahead of Lamine Yamal as Aitana Bonmati Secures Third Womens Title

Paris Saint Germain forward Ousmane Dembele lifted the Ballon dOr on Monday for his key contributions to the teams Champions League success last season, while Spains Aitana Bonmati secured the womens award for the third consecutive year.

The 28 year old Dembele narrowly defeated Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal to follow Manchester City and Spain playmaker Rodri, the 2024 recipient, in claiming footballs most esteemed individual honour, a prize long controlled by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ex Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona striker Dembele, a member of the France squad that triumphed at the 2018 World Cup, netted 35 goals across all competitions as PSG secured a domestic league and cup double alongside their first ever Champions League victory.

Deployed as a central striker after Kylian Mbappes transfer to Real Madrid, Dembele helped PSG demolish Inter Milan 5 0 in the Munich final to etch their name in European history.

I am lost for words. It was an outstanding campaign with PSG, the moved Dembele shared from the stage at the Theatre du Chatelet in the heart of Paris.

He praised his manager Luis Enrique, the clubs coach of the year winner, for acting like a father figure to him.

Though an individual accolade, it truly stemmed from the teams efforts, Dembele stressed, noting he was among nine PSG players from the winning side nominated for the award.

The Ballon dOr was never my main goal in football, but I pushed hard for the squad to conquer the Champions League.

The 18 year old Yamal, who shared the pitch with Dembele at Barcelona during his 2023 breakthrough, earlier collected the Kopa Trophy for top under 21 talent for the second straight year.

Dembele attended the event to accept his honour while his PSG colleagues suffered a 1 0 Ligue 1 defeat in Marseille simultaneously, a fixture delayed 24 hours from Sunday due to severe weather in southern France.

Third Successive Win

Barcelona and Spain playmaker Bonmati took the womens Ballon dOr by a slim margin over her national teammate Mariona Caldentey, with whom she featured in Spains penalty shootout loss to England in the Womens Euro 2025 decider.

The 27 year old Bonmati also fell short in the Womens Champions League final with her club against Caldenteys Arsenal last term.

Despite missing the starts in Spains opening two Euro games while recovering from viral meningitis, Bonmati earned tournament player of the competition honours.

I feel immense pride, Bonmati remarked, thanking her teammates for enabling her achievement.

I believe my third straight appearance here owes to the groups I represent, so this success belongs to them.

Alessia Russo, from the victorious England Euro squad and Arsensal, placed third among nominees.

Bonmatis three peat comes after her Barcelona and Spain colleague Alexia Putellas two successive wins.

Only Norways Ada Hegerberg and USAs Megan Rapinoe have previously claimed the Womens Ballon dOr since its 2018 launch.

Journalists from the top 100 FIFA ranked nations for men and top 50 for women vote on the Ballon dOr.

Vicky Lopez, Bonmatis 19 year old Barcelona and Spain teammate, received the best young womens player recognition.

Gianluigi Donnarumma, standout in PSGs dominant season before joining Manchester City, won the Yashin award for premier goalkeeper.

Englands Euro champion Hannah Hampton took the top womens goalkeeper prize, with her national coach Sarina Wiegman honoured as best womens manager.