PSG striker Dembélé wins Ballon d'Or

Paris Saint-Germain striker Ousmane Dembélé has won the Ballon d'Or as best player of the 2024/25 season. In the final head-to-head, the Frenchman finished ahead of Barcelona's young Spanish talent Lamine Yamal. Midfielder Vitinha (Portugal, Paris Saint-Germain) finished third. Italy goalkeeper Gigio Donnarumma, formerly of PSG and now at Manchester City, finished in ninth place. Dembélé led PSG to their first Champions League title with goals and was among nine players from the Parisian club vying for the men's award. Dembélé was among the few PSG representatives present at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, as the rest of the squad was playing in the big league match against Marseille, which was postponed yesterday due to bad weather. Dembélé, Désiré Doué, and João Neves were all injured and were not in the squad for the match, which freed them to attend the ceremony. The Ballon d'Or was created by the French magazine France Football and has been awarded to men since 1956 and to women since 2018. It is voted on by journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings for the men's award and by the top 50 countries in the FIFA rankings for the women's award.