Tearful Dembele dedicates Ballon d'Or to PSG and the fans

Paris St Germain's France international Ousmane Dembele said winning the Ballon d’Or was never a personal goal but admitted he could not hold back tears when he spoke about his family after being named the world’s best player on Monday.

The forward became the first Frenchman since Karim Benzema in 2022 to lift the prize after helping PSG claim their maiden Champions Leagure crown  last season.

“I didn’t want to cry, but as soon as I started talking about my family, about the people who have been there for me, it came up and I couldn’t hold it back,” Dembele told Reuters after beating Barcelona and Spain forward Lamine Yamal to the prize.

The 28-year-old added that while he never set out to target individual honours, the award was a special moment.

“It was never a personal objective. On an individual level, having a trophy like this is magnificent. But when it happens, of course, you’re happy, you’re delighted.”

Asked whether the accolade was the “people’s Ballon d’Or”, a description once used by Benzema, Dembele replied: “Benzema is the people’s Ballon d’Or, the first one, and I am the second.”

Dembele insisted the award also belonged to his club.

“Yes, of course, it’s for the team. For all the people who are fans of me, all the Parisian supporters, the whole club, the staff and the players,” he said.

Recovering from an injury that has sidelined him in recent weeks, the striker said: “It’s better, I’ll be back soon.”

Dembele’s prize was one of several for PSG, who won the treble of Champions League, Ligue 1 and the French Cup last season as well as the UEFA Super Cupthis year.

The French champions were named team of the season, Luis Enrique was voted best coach and Gianluigi Donnarumma, who left for Manchester City in the close season, was recognised as top goalkeeper with the Yashin trophy.

"It’s the result of hard work, by everyone at the club," PSG President Al-Khelaifi said. "We’ve got young players, and stars who work for the team. It’s a collective achievement."

Spain's Bonmati, the Champions League player of the season, won the women’s Ballon d’Or for the third time in a row, while England's Dutch manager Sarina Wiegman was honoured as women’s coach of the year after leading her side to the European title.

"I'm amazed and proud because it's a lot of hard work. I'm here for the third time in a row because of the teams I've been playing with," the 27-year-old Bonmati said.

"We couldn't win the Champions League this year but we went to the final and it's football, it's not always about winning or losing," she added, with Barca having lost 1-0 to Arsenal in this year's final of Europe's elite club competition.