Ousmane Dembele was in tears after winning the first Ballon d'Or Award of his career in Paris on Monday September 22, 2025. The PSG forward got extremely emotional in his victory speech while recounting his difficult upbringing and how much his family had to sacrifice for him to reach the stage where he is right now. The host asked his mother to come and stand by him in the podium after which both of them shared a warm hug on stage.
Dembele edged out Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and PSG teammate Vitinha to the award for the best football player in the world. The French World Cup winner went onto win the trophy following an oustanding season with PSG in which his contributions helped the club to win the treble. His consistent performance in clutch matches swayed the votes towards his side.
The 28-year-old couldn't contain his tears as he paid tribute to his family in the audience after accepting the award from fellow Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldinho. AFter receiving the award he said, "To my mother, I want to thank you. You have always been there for me, mama. To my family, we have experienced so much together. We have been through it all. We will always be together."
List of award winners at Ballon d'Or 2025
Women’s Ballon d’Or 2025: Aitana Bonmati
Men’s Club of the Year: PSG
Women’s Club of the Year: Arsenal
Men’s Coach of the Year: Luis Enrique
Women’s Coach of the Year: Sarina Wiegman
Men’s striker of the Year - Viktor Gyokeres
Women’s striker of the Year - Ewa Pajor
Men’s goalkeeper of the Year - Gianluigi Donnarumma
Women’s goalkeeper of the Year - Hannah Hampton
Best male young player - Lamine Yamal
Best female young player - Vicky Lopez
Socrates Award - The Xana Foundation
