Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele bizarrely compared his achievement to a goal he scored against Tottenham for Barcelona back in 2018. The Paris Saint-Germain star was given the honour of being named the world's best player throughout last season and he feels his drive to claim the trophy resembles a particular goal from seven years ago.
Dembele beats Yamal to the big prize
Dembele was the winner by a decisive margin as he added the individual accolade to his collection after guiding the French side to a clean sweep of domestic trophies and, most importantly, their maiden Champions League success. After beating Lamine Yamal and PSG team-mate Vitinha to the prize, the France international had an interesting analogy as he attempted to describe how he zeroed in on the award.
AdvertisementDembele compares win to solo effort against Tottenham
Dembele compared being named the world's best footballer with a solo goal he scored against Spurs for Barcelona at Camp Nou. In December 2018, Dembele fired the Spanish giants to an early lead in a Champions League clash against the London side. Spurs went on to claim a 1-1 draw, but the goal clearly sticks in the attacker's mind.
He explained to howthe win resembles the goal, saying: "I press the opponent, he loses his balance a little. I recover the ball and then, there is a two against one.
"I said: 'I'm going alone'. I pushed the ball, I accelerated and I saw the player, the defender coming like crazy to tackle. I hooked him and I scored. It's pretty much the Ballon d'Or."
Dembele pays tribute to Benzema
Dembele went on to praise his compatriot Karim Benzema, who won the individual gong in 2022, and compared himself to the former Real Madrid striker, adding: "We both come from the suburbs, we grew up there, and to be at the highest level in the world, to win a Ballon d'Or, is exceptional. He is the first Ballon d'Or of the people, I am the second."
The 28-year-old also refused to call himself the best player in the world, as the expression ultimately does not matter or mean much to him.
"It can change every weekend. One match, you are not good, we will say you are rubbish. The next match, you are the best in the world," said Dembele, before going on to stress that he owes his success to his PSG team-mates. "It's with everyone. It's a team… it's a whole group. It's the team's Ballon d'Or. Sorry for my language, but I didn't give a damn. You take it or you don't take it. Even if I wanted to score goals, I didn't mean to shoot up there."
AFPDembele believes he and PSG can achieve more
While there were other worthy contenders, Dembele ultimately won the award as the crown jewel of a PSG that excelled in the 2024-25 season. As such, he refused to take much of the credit, repeatedly suggesting the award was the result of the team's performance. Even with this award, he still believes he needs to improve as a player, for fear of his manager looking to replace him.
"If you don't win, if you're not hungry with Luis Enrique, you'll go to the bench. Or we'll buy another player," he said.
Les Parisiens' defence of their Ligue 1 title hit its first hurdle earlier this week, when suffered a rare loss away to Marseille in a fiery clash that saw Roberto De Zerbi sent off towards the end. Dembele and his teammates will look to improve when they take on Auxerre later today, before a trip to the 28-year-old's stomping ground Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday.
