By her side, Aitana Bonmatí, a legendary footballer who lifted her third consecutive Ballon d'Or, a feat only accomplished by Platini and Messi, the fifth in a row for Spanish women's football following the two by Alexia Putellas. A prize where she outshone her compatriot Mariona Caldentey, who won the Champions League with Arsenal, confirming the absolute Spanish dominance, with four players among the top six including Alexia Putellas (fourth) and Patri Guijarro (sixth).
If there is one person responsible for Dembélé's success beyond himself, that is Luis Enrique. The Asturian coach has transformed an inconsistent player, prone to injuries and disconnected from the team, into the spearhead of his intense project. A style of high pressure, verticality, and intensity that has the former player of Stade Rennes, Borussia Dortmund, and Barcelona as its leader.
"Ousmane is a leader. But he is a leader by example, not by words. Have you seen how he pressed? Name a '9' in Europe who presses the goalkeeper and the center back in that way. When someone leads by pressing like that, the rest just have to follow him," praised the Asturian after the Champions League final, where PSG thrashed Inter Milan 5-0.
Dembélé didn't score, but provided two assists to Désiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia that sealed the French victory in Munich. An extraordinary performance to complete a sensational season: 35 goals and 16 assists in 53 matches for four titles: Ligue 1, the French Cup, the French Super Cup, and the Champions League. All before the Club World Cup, where he led PSG in their quarterfinal and semifinal wins against Bayern and Madrid (2 goals and an assist in both matches) until Chelsea prevented Luis Enrique's team from winning all trophies of the season.
At 28 years old, Dembélé is experiencing the best moment of a career with ups and downs. At just 19 years old, in 2016, he left Rennes for Dortmund for 15 million euros, and in a few months, his name rose in the list of great promises of European football. 10 goals and 21 assists with the Germans under Thomas Tuchel convinced Barcelona, who the following summer, in 2017, chose him to be the successor of Neymar Jr. The Barcelona board, who had received 222 million from PSG for the Brazilian, offered the Germans 145 million euros: 105 fixed and 40 in variables.
He became Barcelona's most expensive signing in history, but injuries and doubts about his commitment and professionalism on and off the field marked his time in the Catalan capital. He suffered 14 muscle injuries and was sidelined for 784 days, numbers that prevented him from shining at the level expected by the club.
Thus, in August 2023, the Catalan club accepted PSG's 50 million offer, and Dembélé returned to France, where he reunited with Luis Enrique, and after some conflicts, his footballing reality changed, although it was challenging. At the end of September 2024, at the start of the season that would see him crowned Ballon d'Or, the coach sidelined the player for "a commitment issue" before the Champions League group stage match against Arsenal. "When a player doesn't meet obligations, they are sidelined. I am tough when I need to be tough. That's my role," said Luis Enrique at that time.
Dembélé accepted and learned from the punishment, accumulating eight goals and six assists in the last edition of the Champions League, scoring or assisting in all knockout matches except one, in the first leg of the round of 16 against Liverpool. He emerged across Europe and redeemed himself from his shortcomings in Barcelona and his first year in Paris to lift the Ballon d'Or at the Chatelet.
"Luis Enrique is like my father. Well, he is my father," admitted the French forward, emotional, on the night he was dressed in gold. "Receiving this trophy and having it presented by Ronaldinho is exceptional. Thanks to Stade Rennes, Dortmund, Barça... There I could learn alongside players like Messi or Iniesta. This is incredible," he expressed.
Earlier, Aitana had acknowledged that this award "could have been for any of you," referring to her competitors for the award. "If I could share it, I would. It's the first year where we have the same awards as the men, and it's appreciated. Equality is something we have been demanding for a long time," she stated.