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| ReutersYonhap News |
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| ReutersYonhap News |
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A football player's life is also unknown. Thanks to Kylian Mbappe, a player wearing a Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) uniform stands tall as a strong candidate for the Ballon d'Or.
PSG won the first UCL in the club's history by winning the 2024-2025 European Champions League (UCL) final against Inter Milan 5-0 at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany on the 1st (Korea time).
In addition to winning the first UCL ever this season, PSG completed a historic treble season by winning the French League 1 and the Coupe de France. He was also listed as the ninth club to achieve the treble. Lee Kang-in, a Korean A team player from PSG, also did not play, but he enjoyed the joy of winning.
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With PSG's victory, Dembele was the highest-ranked player. This season, Dembele has been a series of turnovers. Dembele, who transferred with the PSG squad reorganization policy ahead of the 2023-2024 season, was one of the players who had great talent at the time of the transfer but was not highly anticipated. Such an evaluation was natural. Dembele, who transferred from Dortmund to Barcelona in 2017 and recorded a huge transfer fee of 175 million euros (about 270 billion won), rarely showed an outstanding performance in Barcelona. Along with the evaluation of being unfaithful, injuries continued every season.
Immediately after the transfer to PSG, there was a lot of concern as evaluations poured out that Mbappe's breath was in play. In the 2023-2024 season, the first season immediately after the transfer to PSG, Dembele was below expectations with 42 games, 6 goals and 12 assists. There were predictions that concerns would lead to reality. Last summer, Mbappe left for Real Madrid and not many fans evaluated that Dembele could replace the position.
But Dembele's season has been a perfect turnaround. He has established himself as a persona of director Luis Enrique. Played as a PSG ace, performing perfectly in both the winger and fake No. 9. He recorded nearly one offensive point per game with 33 goals and 11 assists in 49 official games this season. He also tied for top scorer with 21 goals in the league. It's not that he lacked performance in UCL. Dembele, who scored eight goals and four assists in 15 games, showed tremendous performance with two goals and five assists in seven Champions League tournaments, including two assists in the final.
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Along with his performance, he is considered the most likely candidate for the Ballon d'Or this season. Initially, Mohamed Salah, Kylian Mbappe and Ramin Yamal were mentioned, but the atmosphere fell back to Dembele as Dembele led PSG to the UCL championship. Coach Luis Enrique also said, `Everyone talks about the Ballon d'Or. I want to give Dembele the prize. He is an exemplary player and has excellent defensive involvement. He also showed good performance in the final. The goal was excellent, and the defense should be complimented even more."
If Dembele wins the Ballon d'Or, he will enjoy the honor ahead of his teammate Mbappe, who wanted to win the UCL and the Ballon d'Or as a member of PSG. It can also leave a name in PSG history. Players who won the Ballon d'Or based on their outstanding performances at PSG include George Weah and Lionel Messi. However, Weah's team was AC Milan at the time of the award, and Messi won the award as a member of PSG, but he received it for his performance in Barcelona. It is an opportunity to play for PSG and become the first player to win a prize for PSG.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
