French international Ousmane Dembélé claimed the 2025 Ballon d’Or on Monday, awarded annually by France Football magazine, at a ceremony held at Paris’s Théâtre du Châtelet.
It marks the first Ballon d’Or of his career, as he finished ahead of rivals including Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi, Raphinha, Lamine Yamal and Mohamed Salah.
Dembélé was a key figure alongside Hakimi in Paris Saint-Germain’s title-winning campaign, capped by victory in the Champions League.
First awarded in 1956 to England’s Stanley Matthews, the Ballon d’Or initially honoured only European players before opening up to all footballers in Europe in 1995 and to the world from 2007.
The prize was merged with FIFA’s World Player of the Year award from 2010 to 2015, before being reinstated as a standalone award in 2016.
Last year’s trophy went to Spain’s Rodrigo Hernández, known as Rodri, of Manchester City.
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