Inter Miami icon Lionel Messi has congratulated Ousmane Dembélé on winning the 2025 Ballon d’Or, after the French winger narrowly beat Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal to the coveted prize.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner took to social media to celebrate his former Barcelona teammate, commenting on Dembélé’s Instagram post of him lifting the Golden Ball on Monday night.
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Dembélé enjoyed a remarkable 2024/25 season, scoring 35 goals in 53 games across all competitions for Paris Saint-Germain, spearheading their first-ever Champions League triumph alongside Ligue 1 and Coupe de France victories.
In doing so, he succeeded Manchester City’s Rodri as the award’s holder and became the sixth Frenchman in history to win the Ballon d’Or, joining legends Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, Zinedine Zidane, and Karim Benzema.
Messi Congratulates Dembele After Ballon d’Or Win
Messi congratulated Dembele on his Ballon d’Or win last night, taking to social media to comment: “Grande Ous. Congratulations, I am so happy for you. You deserve it,” beneath the Frenchman’s Instagram post.
Dembele thanked Messi personally during his Ballon d’Or acceptance speech, saying he “learned so much from him” during their time together at Barcelona
Messi and Dembele were teammates at Barcelona for four seasons, following the Frenchman’s arrival from Borussia Dortmund in 2017 in a reported £135.5m deal.
Dembele played alongside Messi in 95 games during his time at the Catalan club and lifted the La Liga title twice in 2018 and 2019, as well as the Copa del Rey in 2018.
Despite spending six years at the Nou Camp, Dembele never quite managed to elevate his game to the next level and departed Barcelona in the summer of 2023 for a return to France with PSG.
Over the next two seasons, the Frenchman established himself as one of the best players in the game under boss Luis Enrique, scoring 43 goals and providing 32 assists in 99 appearances in all competitions to date.
Kylian Mbappe’s departure to Real Madrid last summer saw Dembele take a more central role in Enrique’s side, despite mostly playing on the wings throughout his career.
Dembele is currently injured and was not part of PSG’s squad for Monday’s rescheduled game against Marseille, which saw the Ligue 1 champions suffer a narrow 1-0 loss.
Source: YEN.com.gh
Source: Yen.com.gh
