"If you use it properly, you can become the best player in the world."
Coach Xavier Hernandez, who led FC Barcelona in 2021, made the comments on Barcelona winger Usman Dembele (28, Paris Saint-Germain). Some tilted their heads at Xavi's remarks. Dembele, who moved from Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona in 2017 with a transfer fee of £135.5 million, the second-largest in the world at the time, suffered 14 muscle injuries throughout his time at Barcelona, which prevented him from playing for as many as 784 days. The performance was also unstable, and the work-esque controversy continued. Barcelona has assigned a private chef to ensure Dembele has the right eating habits and has become Barcelona's highest-paid player in recent years for failing or being late for training with an all-night gaming routine.
Then 'Camp Nou's gold side' stood tall as the best star in Europe. Dembele topped the 2025 Ballon d'Or Awards held at the Chardelle Theater in Paris, France on the 23rd (Korea time), beating his rival Lamine Yamal (Barcelona). 'Messi's Advent' Yamal was second, Dembele's teammate midfielder Vitinha was third,"England Premier League champion" Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) was fourth, and Hafinha (Barcelona) was fifth. Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain), Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Gianluigi Donnarumma and Nunu Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain) are listed in the remaining top 10. Yamal won the Copa Trophy, the rookie award, for the second year in a row.
Five Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) players were included in the top 10 men's category at the Ballon d'Or. It follows the quadruple (four wins) in the 2024-2025 season, and PSG won the European Champions League, French Ligue 1, Coupe de France, and Trophy des Champs-Épion one after another. Dembele was at the center. Dembele was awarded the Golden Ball (Ballon d'Or) for his monstrous performance with 35 goals and 16 assists. Dembele is the first PSG player to win the Ballon d'Or, four years after winning Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) in 2021, and three years after winning Karim Benzema (Altihad) in 2022. Dembele became the sixth French player to win the Ballon d'Or after Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, Zinedine Zidane and Benzema.
Dembele's eyes, who was called the winner and won the trophy, shed tears. Just two years ago, Dembele was a player with a considerable distance from the Ballon d'Or. However, Spanish journalist Guillaume Balage wrote in an op-ed for British public broadcaster BBC that Dembele, who was commonly referred to as 'golden', became a completely different person shortly after marrying and having children with his now-wife and Lima in 2021. During his last two seasons in Barcelona, he hired a personal physical therapist and devoted himself to self-management. Dembele, who moved to PSG in 2023, moved between starting and replacing the first season of the transfer. Contributed to the double, but was always overshadowed by Mbappe, who was the ace. However, after Mbappe moved to Real on a free contract in the summer of 2024, he moved from right to center striker. It was PSG coach Luis Enrique's aim. Enrique ordered Dembele to grow selfishness to build offensive points, and the coaches often mentioned 'Ballon d'Or' to stimulate motivation. Enrique was the coach who knew how to make the best use of Dembele, which Xavi said.
Dembele "I can't put into words how I feel right now. Last season with PSG was incredible. This trophy handed over by football legend Ronaldinho is really special. I'm very proud of my achievements." I thank the PSG chairman and the club as a whole for recruiting me in 2023. Nasser Al-Khelaifi is like a father to me. Enrique is also like his father. Together, we also thank our colleagues who have won almost all competitions. This trophy repays the efforts of all PSG players."
Meanwhile, Enrique and key players were unable to attend the ceremony due to their game schedules. PSG's fifth-round match against Olympique Marseille was postponed by one day from the 22nd to the 23rd due to bad rain. In the match, where Lee Kang-in replaced Willian Pacho in the 19th minute of the second half and played for 26 minutes, the team lost 0-1 in the 5th minute of the first half, dedicating the winning goal to Nayef Aguerd. Dembele, midfielder João Neves and striker Desiree Doue were injured and could attend the ceremony. Enrique won the Yoan Cruyff Trophy, the coach of the year award, while Donnarumma, who moved from PSG to Manchester City last summer, was selected as the Yasin Trophy and PSG as the club of the year. Aitana Bonmati, a member of Barcelona's Feminine, was honored with the Ballon d'Or for the third consecutive year.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
