Dembele

France forward Ousmane Dembele won the Ballon d’Or for leading Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to the club’s first Champions League title and Aitana Bonmati received the women’s award for a third successive year on Monday.

Dembele succeeded Manchester City midfielder Rodri to become the sixth Frenchman to win it after Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, Zinedine Zidane, and Karim Benzema.

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Bonmati won ahead of her Spain teammate Mariona Caldentey. She’s only the third player in the award’s history to win three in a row after Michel Platini (1983-85) and Lionel Messi (2009-12).

Dembele

It has been a remarkable turn of fortune for Dembele, who at one point last season was snubbed by PSG coach Luis Enrique for disciplinary reasons.

But once repositioned as a No. 9, he became a scoring machine and was inspirational in PSG’s historic Champions League campaign.

The French club also completed a quadruple last season.

Dembele favourite to win Ballon d’Or

In the Champions League final, Dembele was commended afterward for the way he contributed to PSG’s pressing and his ability to defend during the 5-0 rout of Inter Milan.

Dembele won ahead of teenage star Lamine Yamal. The Barcelona forward, who turned 18 in July, helped Barcelona win La Liga and the Copa del Rey last season and reach the Champions League semifinals.

Yamal also helped Spain win the European Championship in July 2024.

England and Chelsea’s Hannah Hampton won the inaugural award for best women’s goalkeeper, with Man City’s Gianluigi Donnarumma picking up the seventh edition of the men’s prize for his season with PSG.

Arsenal and PSG won the awards for women’s and men’s club of the year after their Champions League successes.

Viktor Gyokeres’ 63 goals for Sporting and Sweden last season earned him the men’s Gerd Muller Trophy. Barcelona and Poland’s Ewa Pajor, scorer of 48 goals, scooped the women’s award.

The Star

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