Borussia Dortmund's 2016 gamble pays off as Ousmane Dembele claims Ballon d'Or

Dembele, once an 18-year-old prospect from Rennes, is now officially the best player in the world. He edged out Lamine Yamal and Mohamed Salah to claim the award, following a remarkable 2024/25 campaign where he scored 32 goals and provided 13 assists, driving PSG to the first treble in the club's history.

The winger received the trophy from Brazilian legend Ronaldinho, a fitting moment for a player whose talent was recognised early at Dortmund.

"Dembele's talent was innate. Very, very unusual. We had a lot of top players on the team, but Ousmane was one of the craziest talents I saw," said Thomas Tuchel, who gave him his Bundesliga debut.

Signed by Dortmund after Henrikh Mkhitaryan's departure, Dembele made an instant impact in Germany. In just one season, he produced six goals and 12 assists in the Bundesliga, combining superbly with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and scored the opener in Dortmund's DFB Cup final victory against Eintracht Frankfurt.

His performances convinced Barcelona to make him one of the most expensive signings in football history in 2017.

Dembele went on to play 186 times for Barcelona, registering 40 goals and 41 assists, before moving to PSG in 2023. Internationally, he featured in France's 2018 World Cup-winning squad and played a key role in their run to the 2022 final.

Now, nearly a decade after Dortmund took a chance on him, Dembele's journey has been capped with football's greatest individual honour.

From Bundesliga breakthrough to Ballon d'Or glory, his story stands as one of the game's finest examples of talent meeting opportunity.

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