A post to mark the anniversary
Ousmane Dembele did not forget the date. One year after lifting the Ballon d’Or, the PSG winger posted on Instagram to mark the anniversary of his triumph. “22.09.25 – Forever. Some memories never age. One year on… pride unchanged, memory eternal,” he wrote, reflecting on the honour of seeing his name written into football history.
At 29, Dembele remains one of the few French players to have won the sport’s most prestigious individual prize, a year after a season capped by a European title with PSG.
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A 2026 bid kept quiet
Unlike Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal, both pushing hard in the race for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, Dembele is taking a much lower-key approach. Rather than shouting about his own case, he has chosen to back his Paris team-mate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who has been tipped by several observers as one of the frontrunners for this year’s award.
It is a more selfless stance, and one that has drawn praise in the press, especially when compared with the full-throttle campaigns of some rivals ahead of the ceremony.
PSG still right at the heart of the race
The Paris club now have two names in the mix for the 2026 Ballon d’Or: the current holder and his Georgian team-mate. It keeps the focus on the collective rather than ego, at least for now, with only a few weeks to go before the ceremony.
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