Dembélé wins Ballon d’Or; Bonmatí clinches third straight women’s award, matching Platini and Messi
Ousmane Dembélé won the Ballon d’Or on Monday for leading Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to its first Champions League title. The French forward succeeded Manchester City midfielder Rodri and became the sixth Frenchman to win the award after Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, Zinedine Zidane and Karim Benzema.
The award capped a remarkable turnaround for Dembélé, who was once sidelined by PSG coach Luis Enrique for disciplinary reasons. Repositioned as a No. 9, he became instrumental in PSG’s historic campaign as the club also completed a quadruple last season.
Dembélé scored 35 goals and delivered 16 assists in 53 matches, including 14 goal involvements in 15 Champions League appearances. Praised for his pressing and defensive contribution in the 5-0 win over Inter Milan in the final, he received the trophy from Ronaldinho and broke down in tears, inviting his mother on stage.
“It’s incredible to win a trophy like this,” Dembélé said in French. “I worked for the team to help win PSG’s first Champions League (...) To then be rewarded with an individual trophy like the Ballon d’Or is truly exceptional.”
Competition from Yamal
Dembélé won ahead of teenage sensation Lamine Yamal, who turned 18 in July and helped Barcelona win La Liga and the Copa del Rey. Yamal, also a Champions League semifinalist, was awarded the Kopa trophy for the best under-21 player for the second straight year.
“I need to keep on working to win other awards in the future,” Yamal said.
Dembélé, injured at the time, attended the Paris ceremony while PSG lost 1-0 at Marseille in Ligue 1. He was one of nine PSG players nominated, alongside Gianluigi Donnarumma, Désiré Doué and Khvitcha Kvaratskhelia.
Bonmatí secures third consecutive award
Aitana Bonmatí claimed the women’s Ballon d’Or for the third year in a row, beating her Spain teammate Mariona Caldentey. She became only the third player in history to win three consecutive awards, after Platini and Lionel Messi.
Despite Spain’s penalty shootout defeat to England in the Women’s European Championship final, Bonmatí was named player of the tournament. She had joined the competition shortly after recovering from viral meningitis. Her penalty in the final was saved by England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, who also won the award for best women’s goalkeeper.
“Third time in a row here and I still can’t believe it,” Bonmatí said. “I owe Barcelona everything, this is the club of my life.”
She helped Barcelona to a domestic treble and another Champions League final, maintaining the club’s dominance with five straight women’s Ballon d’Or winners.
Other major awards
Barcelona forward Vicky Lopez received the women’s Kopa trophy, while England coach Sarina Wiegman won the Johan Cruyff award for best women’s coach. Luis Enrique was honoured in the men’s category after PSG’s European triumph.
PSG was voted the best men’s club, and Donnarumma collected the Lev Yashin award for best goalkeeper before leaving for Manchester City in the offseason.
The Gerd Müller trophies for top scorers went to Barcelona’s Ewa Pajor and Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres, who joined from Sporting Portugal after a prolific season.