PSG's Dembélé wins Ballon d'Or ahead of Yamal

Paris Saint-Germain guardant Ousmane Dembélé has beaten Barcelona's Lamine Yamal to the Ballon d'Or aft a good play which ended with Champions League success.

Dembélé, 28, scored 35 goals successful 53 appearances successful each competitions for treble-winners PSG, who besides won Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France successful summation to their archetypal ever Champions League trophy.

The French broadside besides reached the last of the Club World Cup successful the summer, yet losing to Chelsea successful the last successful the United States.

Dembélé -- who is presently injured, truthful wasn't portion of PSG's squad for Monday's rescheduled crippled against Marseille -- collected the grant astatine the Théâtre du Châtelet successful Paris connected Monday.

The Ballon d'Or is fixed to the champion men's subordinate implicit the past play and is administered by France Football, with planetary journalists voting for the victor based connected idiosyncratic performances, squad achievements and a player's people and just play.

"Thank you all," an affectional Dembélé said connected Monday. "What conscionable happened to maine is incredible. I'm speechless. It's been an astonishing play with PSG. I've experienced unthinkable things, and I'm a small nervous; it's not easy.

"Receiving this trophy, particularly from Ronaldinho, is genuinely exceptional. I privation to convey PSG for signing maine successful 2023. The president, the full team, and the club. They are a fantastic family. From time one, the president has treated maine precise well."

Dembélé, who succeeds Manchester City's Rodri arsenic the winner, was considered 1 of the biggest talents successful the crippled erstwhile helium broke connected to the country astatine Rennes archetypal and aboriginal Borussia Dortmund.

"I would besides similar to convey each the unit astatine PSG who person been fantastic," helium said. "Luis Enrique, who is similar a begetter to me. He has been precise important to my career, adjacent though it's not implicit yet. Thank you to each my teammates. We've won astir everything. You've been by my side, and unneurotic we've raised our level to execute these squad trophies. This is an idiosyncratic award, but we each stock successful this occurrence arsenic a team."

Barcelona paid implicit €100 cardinal ($117.7m) to motion him successful 2017 but, contempt spending six seasons astatine the Catalan club, helium ne'er rather managed to instrumentality his crippled to the adjacent level.

However, since moving to PSG successful 2023 for €50m, helium has established himself arsenic 1 of the champion players successful the crippled nether manager Luis Enrique.

"Thank you to each the clubs I've played for: Stade Rennes, Borussia Dortmund, and the nine I ever dreamed of playing for, Barcelona," helium said. "I learned truthful overmuch there, playing alongside players similar Messi and Iniesta. It was a large learning experience. I americium truthful happy. When I spot the database of legends who person won this award... I worked hard for the squad to triumph the Champions League, Ligue 1 ... to triumph this trophy is incredible. I americium precise happy."

Last season, aft Kylian Mbappé's determination to Real Madrid, helium took connected an adjacent much cardinal relation successful the side, often playing done ...