
1. Introduction: Dembélé Claims 2025 Ballon d'Or
French star Ousmane Dembélé of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) has won the 2025 Ballon d'Or for his outstanding performance last season. At 28, he finally reached the peak of his career.A few years ago, Dembélé was questioned as an "overpriced flop" due to persistent injuries and inconsistent form. Today, he stood on the podium and lifted the Ballon d'Or, the symbol of football's highest honor.After moving between several clubs, Dembélé found his true stage at PSG and completed a remarkable transformation with a breakthrough season. This article tells how he fulfilled his talent and grew from a heavily doubted player to a Ballon d'Or winner.

2. Past Struggles: Inconsistency and "Dribble-First" Mindset
- Dembélé has long prioritized dribbling over scoring. In a November 2023 interview with L'Équipe, he said, "Scoring isn’t the only thing that matters. I sleep well at night and still have full confidence in myself," even though he knew he had the potential to score more.Two years earlier, when asked how he wanted to be remembered, he replied, “I want people to say: He’s a great dribbler, incredibly entertaining. Whether it’s 1 PM, 4 PM, or 9 PM, you turn on the TV and spend time watching me take on players and score.”Statistically, his scoring lagged behind until last season. After a breakthrough 2015-16 season with Rennes (12 league goals), he never hit double-digit league goals again. His career-high for all competitions was 14 goals with Barcelona in 2018-19.

3. Tactical Shift: The "False Nine" Transformation Under Enrique
- Midway through last season, PSG manager Luis Enrique moved Dembélé to the false nine position—a change that unlocked his scoring potential. He scored 27 goals in 22 games afterward.
- By season’s end, he had tallied 35 goals in all competitions—only 5 fewer than his total in six seasons with Barcelona. He also led PSG to a historic Champions League title and a Club World Cup runner-up finish.
- Enrique’s tactical choice stemmed from filling the gap left by Kylian Mbappé’s transfer to Real Madrid. He once said, "We wouldn’t turn down a player scoring 40 goals, but from my experience, four players scoring 12 each (totaling 48) is more reliable than one scoring 40."
- Before Dembélé, Enrique tested other players (Gonçalo Ramos, Marco Asensio, Lee Kang-in, Warren Zaïre-Emery) in the false nine role, but none adapted successfully. PSG also struggled in the Champions League initially, narrowly beating Girona 1-0, drawing with PSV Eindhoven, losing to Atlético Madrid, and falling 0-1 to Bayern Munich (risking group-stage elimination).

4. Breakthrough: Key Performances and Improved Efficiency
- Dembélé’s turning point came on December 15, when he returned to the starting lineup against Lyon (after being benched for disciplinary issues) and became PSG’s attacking core. He scored the opener in the 8th minute and created chances for teammates in a 3-1 win.
- His hot streak continued: he scored twice in a 4-2 away win over Monaco before the Ligue 1 winter break; netted the winner in extra time of the French Super Cup against Monaco (2025’s first game); scored twice against Saint-Étienne; and even came off the bench to spark a 4-2 comeback win over Manchester City in the Champions League (scoring PSG’s first goal).
- He also scored in a 1-1 draw with Reims, and became PSG’s first player to score back-to-back hat-tricks (against Stuttgart and Brest). By this point, he had 18 goals in 10 games—an extremely rare efficiency in world football.

5. Evolution: From Dribbler to Clinical Finisher
- Dembélé’s scoring style shifted from relying on dribbles or long shots to "classic striker goals": close-range tap-ins, delicate chips, rebound finishes, and instinctive first-time strikes. He said he learned to focus on shot angles rather than just power.
- A team staff member revealed, "He did a lot of match video analysis and spent hours practicing shooting to be more efficient and confident in the box."
- Data reflects his improvement:
- 2021-22: 2.9 shots per 90 minutes, 19.5 yards per shot, 0.06 xG per shot
- 2022-23: 3.1 shots per 90 minutes, 16.7 yards per shot, 0.08 xG per shot
- 2023-24: 2.6 shots per 90 minutes, 16 yards per shot, 0.1 xG per shot
- 2024-25: 5 shots per 90 minutes, 17.1 yards per shot, 0.16 xG per shot
- Dembélé explained, "Before, I played more on the right flank, deeper. Scoring was hard—I had to beat three or four players to shoot. Now as a striker, I face fewer defenders; often a simple push is enough to score."

6. Team Integration: From "Solo Player" to Team Leader
- Beyond scoring, Dembélé became a key playmaker. In the Champions League, he assisted in both legs against Aston Villa (round of 16), set up Achraf Hakimi for the winning goal in the semi-final second leg, and created chances for Zaïre-Emery and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the final (a 5-0 win over Inter Milan)—including a brilliant overhead assist for Zaïre-Emery’s crucial third goal.
- A viral photo after the Champions League final showed him look Inter keeper Yann Sommer near the box, ready to lead PSG’s high press—no longer the "solo dribbler" mocked in the past, but a fully team-focused player.
- He told France Football, "For me, a striker can’t be lazy. You have to work hard at all times—attack and defense—to help the team, not just in attack." He added, "The coach talked to me at the start of the season. He said I had to set an example for young players and be the team’s first line of defense. That made me fully understand my responsibility."

7. Why Dembélé Won: Advantages Over Competitors
- The 2025 Ballon d’Or focused on club performance (no World Cup or European Championship). Dembélé’s status as the core of Europe’s best team (PSG) gave him an edge.
- Key competitors fell short:
- Barcelona’s 18-year-old Lamine Yamal had 18 goals and 25 assists but missed out because Barça failed to advance deep in the Champions League.
- Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah had an excellent Premier League title-winning season but lacked European success.
- Kylian Mbappé scored 44 goals in his first Real Madrid season but only won the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup.
- Erling Haaland of Manchester City won no major trophies.
- PSG teammates like Hakimi, Vitinha, and Nuno Mendes played well but were overshadowed by Dembélé’s brilliance.

8. Conclusion: A Journey of Redemption
- Dembélé’s career has been a rollercoaster: a talented teen at Rennes who couldn’t name his stronger foot; a rising star at Dortmund who fell out of favor due to transfer drama (refusing to train to force a move); a "rambling youngster" and injury-prone "flop" at Barcelona; and finally, the world’s best player at PSG.
- His friend Mustapha Diatta said, "The false nine role lets him be at the heart of the game—organizing attacks and finishing. At first, he accepted it out of respect for the coach, but later found real joy in scoring, linking up with teammates, and controlling the game’s rhythm."
- "People used to wonder what Dembélé would be like if he started scoring. This year, everyone finally got the answer."