Ballon d’Or 2025: Dembele pips Yamal as PSG dominate ceremony; Bonmati emulates Barca icon Messi

Paris Saint-Germain star Ousmane Dembele beat Barcelona’s teen sensation Lamine Yamal to win the Ballon d’Or 2025 in Paris on Monday. The Catalan giants, however, managed to extend their domination on the top women’s award with star midfielder Aitana Bonmati winning the Ballon d’Or Feminin for the third consecutive year.

Dembele was the standout performer in an extraordinary season for Luis Enrique’s PSG, who thrashed Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich to win their maiden UEFA Champions League title on 1 June and finished runners-up at the FIFA Club World Cup the next month.

“I really don’t have the words. It was an incredible season with PSG,” said an emotional Dembele, who described Enrique as a “father” figure, on the stage. “It is an individual trophy but it was really the collective that won it.”

“The Ballon d’Or has not really been an objective for me in my career but I worked hard for the team to win the Champions League,” he added.

A new name on the list ✍️🌕 #ballondor pic.twitter.com/km4xsaN4AS

— Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) September 23, 2025

Therefore, it hardly came as a surprise when PSG – who have also won the UEFA Super Cup as well as Ligue 1, French Cup and Trophée des Champions – were named the ‘Men’s Club of the Year’, with Enrique winning the Johan Cruyff Trophy for the best men’s coach.

Enrique, however, wasn’t present at Paris’ Théâtre du Châtelet for the ceremony; he was overseeing his team’s away Ligue 1 fixture against Marseille, which Les Parisians ended up losing 0-1. The fact that their main star on the pitch was finally having a lifelong dream come true nearly 800 kilometres away might have been among the reasons for the defeat.

Bonmati completes hat-trick

Arsenal, meanwhile, had been named the ‘Women’s Club of the Year’ while Dutch manager Sarina Wiegman was the female recipient of the ‘Johan Cruyff Trophy’ for steering England to a second successive Euro title.

Arsenal had defeated Barcelona to win the UEFA Women’s Champions League after finishing runners-up in the Women’s Super League while the Lionesses had defeated Spain to extend their reign as European champions.

Bonmati, who had helped Spain win the 2023 World Cup as well as the 2024 UEFA Nations League, was involved in both defeats – both of them by the barest of margins. The 27-year-old, however, would have a reason to smile again after the twin heartbreaks earlier this summer as she became the first female player to complete a hat-trick of Ballons d’Or.

🌕 2025
🌕 2024
🌕 2023#ballondor pic.twitter.com/xC8UBFnzfi

— Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) September 22, 2025

“I am very proud,” said Bonmati. “I think I am here for the third consecutive time because of the teams I play in, so all of this is because of them.”

Bonmati beat Spain teammate Mariona Caldentey, who is part of the Champions League-winning Gunners, to the award.

And Bonmati wasn’t the only Barca star to win the same award once again, with Yamal – who had played alongside Dembele at the Catalan club in 2023 – winning the Men’s Kopa Award for the best player under the age of 21 for the second year running.

Barcelona, in fact, completed a sweep of this award, with Bonmati’s teammate Vicky Lopez winning the Women’s award.

Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma won the Men’s Yashin Award for the best goalkeeper, having starred in PSG’s incredible season before making a move to Manchester City during the summer transfer window. England’s Hannah Hampton, who had starred in the Euro triumph, became the first woman to win the goalkeeping award.

Ballon d’Or also paid a heartfelt tribute to late Portugal and Liverpool star Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, whose lives were tragically cut short in a car accident in July, as well as Manchester United icon Denis Law.

The Ballon d’Or is voted for by a panel of journalists – one from each of the top-100 nations as per the FIFA rankings for the men’s categories, and the top-50 for the women’s awards.

Full list of awards and their recipients at the 2025 Ballon d’Or

Ousmane Dembele – Ballon d’Or

Aitana Bonmati – Ballon d’Or Feminin

Lamine Yamal – Kopa Trophy

Vicky Lopez – Women’s Kopa Trophy

Gianluigi Donnarumma – Yashin Trophy

Hannah Hampton – Women’s Yashin Trophy

Viktor Gyokeres – Gerd Muller Trophy

Ewa Pajor – Women’s Gerd Muller Trophy

PSG – Club of the year

Arsenal – Women’s Club of the Year

Luis Enrique – Men’s Coach of the Year

Sarina Wiegman – Women’s Coach of the Year

Fundacion Xana – Socrates Award

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