PSG star Dembele wins Ballon d'Or; Bonmati completes women's hat-trick

Paris, Sep 23 (IANS) France forward Ousmane Dembele capped a remarkable season by winning the men’s Ballon d’Or on Monday, football’s most prestigious individual award, after spearheading Paris Saint-Germain to their first-ever Champions League triumph.

The 28-year-old edged Barcelona’s teenage prodigy Lamine Yamal to the prize at a glittering ceremony in Paris, succeeding Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri, last year’s winner. Dembele’s victory comes after a prolific campaign in which he scored 35 goals across all competitions, inspiring PSG to a historic treble of the Champions League, French league, and domestic cup.

“I really don’t have the words. It was an incredible season with PSG,” said an emotional Dembele, who hailed coach Luis Enrique as “like a father.”

“It is an individual trophy, but it was really the collective that won it,” he added. “The Ballon d’Or has not really been an objective for me in my career, but I worked hard for the team to win the Champions League.”

Dembele, once a mercurial winger at Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona, has matured into PSG’s talisman. He was one of nine players from their treble-winning squad nominated for this year’s award, underlining the club’s dominance in Europe last season.

Runner-up Lamine Yamal, just 18, was nonetheless recognised for his meteoric rise. The Spain and Barcelona forward collected the Kopa Trophy for the best player under 21 — his second consecutive win — confirming his status as one of world football’s brightest young stars.

In the women’s category, Barcelona and Spain playmaker Aitana Bonmati lifted the Women’s Ballon d’Or for the third year running. The 27-year-old edged compatriot Mariona Caldentey, who starred for Arsenal and scored in the Women’s Champions League final.

Bonmati endured a bittersweet year: she was named player of the tournament at Euro 2025, where Spain fell to England on penalties in the final, but also lost the Women’s Champions League decider to Caldentey’s Arsenal. Her season was made even more remarkable by the fact she missed Spain’s opening two Euro matches while recovering from viral meningitis.

--IANS

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