Ousmane Dembélé won the Ballon d'Or. © ANSA / Mohammed Badra

A Frenchman wins the Ballon d'Or

Ousmane Dembélé has won the prestigious Ballon d'Or.

September 22, 2025

From: dpa

The 28-year-old Frenchman from Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain prevailed in the vote ahead of young Spanish star Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona. Dembélé received the award that evening at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

The award is a journalists' choice. The prize, awarded by the magazine "France Football" in conjunction with the European football union UEFA, has existed since 1956 and was long considered solely the honor for European Footballer of the Year. In parallel, the world governing body FIFA has honored the World Footballer of the Year since 1991. Between 2010 and 2015, FIFA entered into a partnership with the Amaury Group, to which "France Football" belongs.

In the women's competition, Spaniard Aitana Bonmatí of FC Barcelona received the Golden Ball for the third time in a row. Englishwoman Hannah Hampton of Chelsea FC was named best goalkeeper.

Luis Enrique was named best coach. © ANSA / Guillaume Horcajuelo

Hansi Flick of Spanish champions FC Barcelona lost out to Luis Enrique of PSG in the coaching category. Unlike Dembélé, who had a thigh injury, the Spanish coach was unable to attend in person due to his Parisians' 0-1 league match against Olympique Marseille, which was taking place at the same time.

Donnarumma as best goalkeeper

Real Madrid's stars stayed away from the event, as they did last year – even though three players from the Spanish club, Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, and Vinicius Junior, were nominated for the Ballon d'Or. Last year, Real Madrid's last-minute boycott caused quite a stir after the club learned that Manchester City's Rodri, not Vincius Junior, would receive the award.

Gianluigi Donnarumma is the best goalkeeper. © ANSA / Mohammed Badra

Gianluigi Donnarumma was named best goalkeeper. The Italian international keeper won the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain and moved to Manchester City in the summer. Donnarumma played a major role in PSG's triumph, which was also named Team of the Year. Nevertheless, he had to pack his bags afterward.