After claiming the 2025 Ballon d'Or, Ousmane Dembélé delivered his acceptance speech.
Ousmane Dembélé said: “Thank you, thank you all, thank you. Good evening, everyone. What I’ve just been through is incredible—I really can’t find the words. This year at Paris Saint-Germain has been unbelievable, and so much has happened in my career. Sorry, I’m a bit nervous, as you can tell. It’s not easy. Winning this trophy, especially having it presented to me by football legend Ronaldinho, is really special. I’m proud of everything I’ve achieved in my career.”
“First of all, I want to thank Paris Saint-Germain—thank the club for reaching out to me in 2023, thank the president, the entire team, and the whole club. It’s an incredible family; they’ve been amazing from day one. President Nasser has always stayed in touch with me, he’s been wonderful to me, and he’s like a father figure to me. I also want to thank all the staff at Paris Saint-Germain—they’ve been exceptional from the start. Coach Luis Enrique has been fantastic to me, and he’s also like a father to me. He’s been a very important person in my career, even though my career isn’t over yet.”
“I want to especially thank you, my teammates—this is all down to you. This whole year has been amazing, especially the 2024/25 season, where we won almost everything. You supported me through the good times and the bad. We raised our level to fight for all these collective honors. This individual award, to me, is actually a collective win.”
“I also want to thank all the clubs I’ve played for—Borussia Dortmund, my hometown club Rennes, where I learned almost everything, and Barcelona, the club I dreamed of playing for, where I fulfilled one of my dreams. That experience was extraordinary. In that year, I learned from great players like Andrés Iniesta and Lionel Messi—it was incredible, all those learning experiences… I’m grateful. Even though the Ballon d’Or wasn’t really a goal in my career, winning a trophy like this is truly special. When I look at the list of winners, they’re all great legends and great players. I work for the team, hoping to win Paris Saint-Germain’s first-ever Champions League title, win Ligue 1, win cup competitions, and then to be recognized with an individual award like the Ballon d’Or—it’s amazing. I’m so happy tonight.”
“I also want to thank all my teammates in the national team—they’re just as important to me. Our generation grew up together in the youth teams, and now we’re together in the senior national team. Thank you to the national team coach (the camera panned to Didier Deschamps, who was present), who has trusted me for eight or nine years now. Through good times and bad, he’s always called me up, and I’ve always had his trust. I also want to thank the president of the federation—we especially hope to win a World Cup for him in his final year as coach. Thank you to you and all the players in the French team.”
“I also want to thank my hometown Évreux, where I grew up, where I played, where I first touched a football. Whenever I have free time, I try to go back to my city. The people there have been wonderful to me from the start. They follow me, support me always, and I’m so glad I grew up there.”
“Finally, I want to thank my family, my mother. They’ve always been by my side, supporting me through tough times. And my agent, who always believed in me—he once said I’d win the Ballon d’Or one day. He’s always helped me, believed in me, motivated me. And my best friend of the last four or five years—we’ve been through everything together, done everything together, and he’s followed me everywhere. We’ll be together until the end.”
“In short, thank you all, and have a wonderful evening.”
