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Dembele Becomes Fourth Player of African Descent to Win Ballon d’Or


French forward Ousmane Dembélé etched his name in football history on Monday night as he was crowned the 2025 Ballon d’Or winner, becoming only the fourth player of African descent to claim the game’s most prestigious individual honour.


Dembélé, whose father is Malian and mother has Mauritanian-Senegalese roots, joins a select group of legends with African heritage: Mozambique-born Portuguese icon Eusébio, Liberian great George Weah, and France’s Karim Benzema, whose father hails from Algeria.

The Barcelona winger’s dazzling season—marked by decisive goals, creativity, and consistency—earned him the accolade ahead of other global stars, underscoring his long-awaited rise to the top of world football.


His victory continues a growing recognition of African football heritage in the global game. Eusébio won the award in 1965, Weah became the first and only African-based player to win it in 1995, while Benzema claimed the prize in 2022. Now, three years later, Dembélé has followed in their footsteps, making history for both France and Africa.

The Ballon d’Or, organised by France Football, has been awarded annually since 1956 to the best-performing footballer in the world.

Ballon d’Or Winners Since


1956 – Stanley Matthews (England)
1957 – Alfredo Di Stefano (Spain)
1958 – Raymond Kopa (France)
1959 – Alfredo Di Stefano (Spain)
1960 – Luis Suarez (Spain)
1961 – Omar Sivori (Italy)
1962 – Josef Masopust (Czechoslovakia)
1963 – Lev Yashin (Soviet Union)
1964 – Denis Law (Scotland)
1965 – Eusébio (Portugal)
1966 – Bobby Charlton (England)
1967 – Florian Albert (Hungary)
1968 – George Best (Northern Ireland)
1969 – Gianni Rivera (Italy)
1970 – Gerd Müller (West Germany)
1971 – Johan Cruyff (Netherlands)
1972 – Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany)
1973 – Johan Cruyff (Netherlands)
1974 – Johan Cruyff (Netherlands)
1975 – Oleg Blokhin (Soviet Union)
1976 – Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany)
1977 – Allan Simonsen (Denmark)
1978 – Kevin Keegan (England)
1979 – Kevin Keegan (England)
1980 – Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (West Germany)
1981 – Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (West Germany)
1982 – Paolo Rossi (Italy)
1983 – Michel Platini (France)
1984 – Michel Platini (France)
1985 – Michel Platini (France)
1986 – Igor Belanov (Soviet Union)
1987 – Ruud Gullit (Netherlands)
1988 – Marco van Basten (Netherlands)
1989 – Marco van Basten (Netherlands)
1990 – Lothar Matthäus (Germany)
1991 – Jean-Pierre Papin (France)
1992 – Marco van Basten (Netherlands)
1993 – Roberto Baggio (Italy)
1994 – Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria)
1995 – George Weah (Liberia)
1996 – Matthias Sammer (Germany)
1997 – Ronaldo (Brazil)
1998 – Zinedine Zidane (France)
1999 – Rivaldo (Brazil)
2000 – Luís Figo (Portugal)
2001 – Michael Owen (England)
2002 – Ronaldo (Brazil)
2003 – Pavel Nedvěd (Czech Republic)
2004 – Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine)
2005 – Ronaldinho (Brazil)
2006 – Fabio Cannavaro (Italy)
2007 – Kaká (Brazil)
2008 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
2009 – Lionel Messi (Argentina)
2010 – Lionel Messi (Argentina)*
2011 – Lionel Messi (Argentina)*
2012 – Lionel Messi (Argentina)*
2013 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)*
2014 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)*
2015 – Lionel Messi (Argentina)*
2016 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
2017 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
2018 – Luka Modrić (Croatia)
2019 – Lionel Messi (Argentina)
2020 – Cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic)
2021 – Lionel Messi (Argentina)
2022 – Karim Benzema (France)
2023 – Lionel Messi (Argentina)
2024 – Rodri (Spain)
2025 – Ousmane Dembélé (France)
Between 2010 and 2015, the Ballon d’Or was merged with FIFA’s World Player of the Year award.

Mynd44 mukina2 honeric01
https://9newsng.com/dembele-becomes-fourth-player-of-african-descent-to-win-ballon-dor/

Well deserved, and congratulations to him. How I wish my son or daughter might win this prestigious award one day. I have faith and I believe. God willing.

Here's Ousmane Dembélé's bio-data

- *Full Name*: Masour Ousmane Dembélé
- *Date of Birth*: May 15, 1997
- *Age*: 28 years old (as of 2025)
- *Place of Birth*: Vernon, France
- *Nationality*: French
- *Ethnicity*: Malian (father) and Mauritanian-Senegalese (mother)
- *Height*: 1.78 m (5 ft 10)
- *Position*: Forward/Winger
- *Current Club*: Paris Saint-Germain
- *Current Contract*: Until June 30, 2028

*Career Highlights:*

- Won the 2018 FIFA World Cup with France
- Won the UEFA Champions League with PSG in 2025
- Won the Ballon d'Or in 2025
- Played for Rennes, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona, and Paris Saint-Germain

*Personal Life:*

- Married to Rima Edbouche, a Moroccan woman, since 2021
- Has two children, a son named Rayan and a daughter named Lina (some sources mention only one child, a daughter born in September 2022)
- Practices Islam
- Known for his speed, dribbling skills, and ability to play with both feet

*Net Worth and Salary:*

- Estimated net worth: around $40 million
- Annual salary at PSG: approximately €12 million ¹ ⁴ ⁵

I sincerely hope all those folks who luv screaming and playing the racist card can now rest. Una go rest now.

There are only two real black African that have won the Ballondor

George Weah and Osmane Dembele

Skeyskey:
Well deserved, and congratulations to him. How I wish my son or daughter might win this prestigious award one day. I have faith and I believe. God willing.

I honestly think the next black African to win it will be a Nigerian

robosky02:
I honestly think the next black African to win it will be a Nigerian

Possible but not in this generation.

robosky02:
I honestly think the next black African to win it will be a Nigerian

And who is that Nigerian? How many of our players are involved in top leagues and top clubs recently? Senegal, Ivory coast and Cameroon has taken over. Even Mali is mightier than Nigeria at the moment.

D00msDay:
Possible but not in this generation.

No Nigerian player deserves the top honors in club football at the moment.

The Balon d'Or should have been renamed to Messi d'Or. Man is a god. Gadaammiiit.

Skeyskey:
No Nigerian player deserves the top honors in club football at the moment.

Non. The current crop of players are not worthy of such honors.

When PO wakes up tomorrow morning, he will still blame Tinubu for the failure of any Nigerian football player to win the Ballon d'Or.

What about Zinedane Zidane? Is he not of African descent?

Skeyskey:
And who is that Nigerian? How many of our players are involved in top leagues and top clubs recently? Senegal, Ivory coast and Cameroon has taken over. Even Mali is mightier than Nigeria at the moment.

See ehhh

Do you know if Napoli has allowed Osimhen to join PSG I am sure he would have outshined Dembele and possibly be the one to have been crown this year

OP it should be 5. You didn't add Zenedine Zidane. His father is from Algeria.

George weah must have been soooo good...

brain54:
George weah must have been soooo good...

In American English he is 'bad"

Lol

In a broader sense, the likes of Ronaldo,
Rivaldo & Ronaldinho are all of African decent.

Pele would have featured in the list but was ineligible for Ballon d'Or in his era.

Is this even necessary? Seems Blacks tend to see things from the racial perspectives than others


Must everything be connected to your skin color?

D00msDay:
Possible but not in this generation.

Watch out for Uchenna Ogundu. He is 19 and started scoring for slaysnspor in Turkey. He will soon move to a big league