Ousmane Dembélé’s Ballon d’Or dream is no longer a fantasy. It’s a case built on goals, trophies, and redemption. The 2024–25 season has been the defining chapter of his career, one that transformed him from a dazzling but inconsistent winger into the driving force of a treble-winning Paris Saint-Germain side.
He played 52 matches for PSG, scoring 35 goals and delivering 15 assists across all competitions. He was Ligue 1’s top scorer with 21 goals in 29 games. He added 8 goals and 6 assists in the Champions League, where he was named Player of the Tournament. PSG won Ligue 1, the Coupe de France, the Trophée des Champions, and most importantly, the Champions League. On July 13, he will have the chance to add the Club World Cup to that list.
The turning point came not at the start of the season but in the winter. In December, he caught fire. In January, he was electric, scoring ten goals in five league games. After a red card in the Champions League group stage, he returned with a vengeance, netting a hat-trick and guiding PSG past some of Europe’s best. In the final, a 5–0 demolition of Inter Milan, he provided two assists and helped set the tone with his relentless work rate. Luis Enrique didn’t hesitate when asked who should win the Ballon d’Or: “I would give it to Dembélé, simply because of how he defended in this final.”
From flashy prospect to PSG’s anchor
This wasn’t just a statistical season. It was a transformation. Dembélé matured into a leader, not only scoring and assisting but pressing, defending, and setting an example. Enrique said he asked him to become a reference point for younger players, and Dembélé embraced the challenge. The move from Kylian Mbappé’s shadow to PSG’s focal point was not just symbolic. It was concrete. He did what Mbappé couldn’t: bring the Champions League to Paris.
Even after a minor injury sidelined him in June, Dembélé returned for the Club World Cup semifinal against Real Madrid and produced a goal and an assist in nine minutes. Fans online called it the moment he sealed the Ballon d’Or. Others joked that PSG had waited a decade for the wrong Frenchman. For the first time since Zidane, a French player may be the favorite for the award.
His competition is formidable. Lamine Yamal led Barcelona to a domestic treble and helped Spain win Euro 2024. He had 18 goals and 25 assists in 55 matches and was the top assist provider at the Euros. Mohamed Salah posted 36 goals and 24 assists in Liverpool’s title-winning Premier League campaign. Raphinha had an astonishing 39 goals and 25 assists for Barcelona.
But none of them won the Champions League. Dembélé did, and he was the best player in it. None of them won a treble and possibly more. Dembélé did. His statistics match or exceed the rest, and his evolution into a complete footballer is something that numbers alone can’t convey. Even Guardiola admitted, “I don’t know who will win it, but Dembélé, who has won everything this year, could definitely be the one.”
There is always room for surprises. Ballon d’Or voting has its biases and quirks. But this year, the weight of trophies, performance, and narrative are aligned. Dembélé didn’t just turn his season around. He turned his career around. If his name is read out on September 22 at the Théâtre du Châtelet, it won’t feel like a shock. It will feel like the inevitable conclusion to a season where he finally became the player the world always thought he could be.
