After Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, Zinédine Zidane, and Karim Benzema, Ousmane Dembélé became the sixth Frenchman to win the Ballon d’Or on Monday night. The Paris Saint-Germain forward’s success was celebrated by his national team manager, Didier Deschamps, present at the ceremony in Paris.
Dembélé is the first PSG player to win the greatest individual prize in world football since Lionel Messi in 2023. The Rennes Academy graduate’s triumph comes as little surprise, given that he previously scooped the UEFA Champions League Player of the Season award. Dembélé proved instrumental in leading Les Parisiens to their first European Cup title.
Dembélé was practically in a league of his own last season, with 35 goals and 16 assists in 53 games played for Luis Enrique’s team.
Dembouz is also the first Frenchman to win the Ballon d’Or since Benzema in 2022. Speaking to L’Équipe after the ceremony, Deschamps said, “I am happy for him, for this individual award, which he deserves. It is also a great thing for French football because he is a French player, a France international, so it is France’s success, too.”
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
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