The 2025 Ballon d’Or took place on Monday, and Paris Saint-Germain winger Ousmane Dembélé took home the men’s award, while FC Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmatí won the women’s award for the third consecutive year.
Ousmane Dembélé:
The French winger took home the men’s Ballon d’Or following a campaign in which he led his club, Paris Saint-Germain, to a continental treble-winning season.
In the 2024/25 season, PSG secured the Ligue 1, Coupe de France, and Champions League titles. These achievements were capped off by a dominant 5-0 victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League final, where Dembélé registered two assists in the process. The Frenchman finished the tournament with eight goals and six assists in total.
The 28-year-old completed his Ligue 1 campaign with 21 goals and six assists in 29 matches. He also contributed two goals and one assist in PSG’s runner-up finish at the FIFA Club World Cup.
Dembélé’s influence led PSG to historic achievements, making them the 11th team in history to win a continental treble, and the first club from France to achieve this honor.
https://x.com/eurofootcom/status/1970229614091104556
Aitana Bonmatí:
The Spanish midfielder made history, as she became the first footballer ever to win the Ballon d’Or Féminin three years in a row. Michel Plantini (1983-1985) and Lionel Messi (2010-2012) are the only football players to achieve this feat for the men’s award.
Bonmatí led her club, FC Barcelona, to its 10th Liga F title. She finished the 2024/25 Liga F season with 12 goals and six assists, and she concluded her club campaign with a Champions League runner-up finish.
Two months later, Bonmatí brought her home country of Spain to its first-ever EUROs final, which ultimately ended in a heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat to England. The 27-year-old registered one goal and one assist throughout the tournament, including the winning goal in Spain’s semi-final victory against Germany.
Bonmatí was later named the Player of the Tournament for the 2025 EUROs, an impressive feat considering she had prepared for the tournament while being treated in the hospital for viral meningitis.
The Spanish star has continued to carry her amazing form into the 2025/26 Liga F season, as through four matches, she has registered five goals and one assist. If she maintains this level of play for the next calendar year, Bonmatí might make history as the first footballer ever to win four consecutive Ballon d’Or awards.