Ousmane Dembele WINS Ballon d’Or as PSG ‘bomb squad’ are beaten by arch rivals without him

OUSMANE DEMBELE took home the Ballon D’or for the first time in his career at the prestigious awards ceremony in Paris.

The PSG star had a sensational last campaign with 35 goals and 16 assists in total, as his side won a quadruple, including the Champions League and Ligue 1.

Dembele’s strikes at Anfield and The Emirates in the knockout rounds, as well as two assists in the final, saw PSG win Europe’s most coveted prize for the first time.

Having emerged on the scene as a wonder-kid at Rennes, his rollercoaster career so far included a breakout season at Borussia Dortmund that earned him a move to Barcelona for a fee that at the time made him the second most expensive player ever.

He didn’t live up to expectations in Spain though, and returned to his native France in 2023 where he transformed himself into the player it seemed he was always destined to become.

Dembele was present to pick up the award tonight, despite PSG being in action against Marseille following a re-arranged game due to weather troubles – which PSG lost 1-0.

That saw Luis Enrique unable to attend as he won the Men’s Johan Cruyff Trophy winner for best coach.

It was a close contest between Dembele and Barcelona star Lamine Yamal, who finished second.

Yamal would have become the youngest player to have ever won the famous gong, having only turned 18 in July this year – but that record remains with Ronaldo Nazario, who won it aged 21 with Inter Milan in 1997.

It was Aitana Bonmatí who took home the women’s award for a third consecutive year after winning the Primera División, Copa de la Reina and Supercopa de España with 15 goals and 10 assists. 

The highest ranking English star in the mix was Cole Palmer, who finished eighth beating out Three Lions captain Harry Kane in 13th.

Palmer starred in Chelsea’s Conference League and Club World Cup victories, as well as helping the Blues secure Champions League football through a fourth placed finish in the Premier League, bagging 18 goals and 14 assists in the process.

Ex-Man Utd outcast Scott McTominay stormed to an 18th place finish, having been named the Most Valuable Player in Napoli’s Scudetto win last season.

That ranked him higher than Prem stars Erling Haaland (26th), Declan Rice (27th) and Virgil Van Dijk (28th), as well as Jude Bellingham who ranked 23rd.