Bittersweet night for France’s PSG after awards and match loss

Football’s most prestigious award, the Ballon d’Or, was won by Ousmane Dembele on the night of September 22nd, as reported by the Guardian.

His club, the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), also swept the award show held in Paris with several wins for the team manager, Luis Enrique, the club and the team’s centre-forward player.

While it was a historic day for the French football club, the evening carried a bittersweet note. Six hundred kilometres south of Paris, fans watched as the rest of the team suffered a defeat to Marseille.

This trophy sets a true comeback for Ousmane after a rough few years for the 28-year-old football player. One year ago, he was out of his current team, the PSG, and before this, he was booed for his bad performance at the FIFA World Cup final.

Dembele seems to have confirmed this during his post-win interview, as he categorised the 2024/2025 year as phenomenal and mentioned his great performance during important matches. The French football player also thanked his coach, Luis Enrique, who put him under a lot of pressure every time he was set to play.

In the same interview, the French professional football player later said that it was hard to hold back tears after he mentioned his family during his acceptance speech. When asked about Lamine Yamal, Ousmane said that he was impressed by the runner-up’s performance and stated that he was confident that the 18-year-old would be winning a plethora of trophies in the sport, including the Ballon d’Or.

The winner also mentioned his team’s domination of world football and their incredible record for the past year, wishing that their hard work will continue to show in the next season.

In August, his PSG teammate, Achraf Hakimi, was asked to withdraw his interview comments by their club’s management about the Ballon d’Or, and he ultimately refused to do so. Hakimi had confidently stated that based on his numbers, he deserves to win the award. In the past couple of years, the Moroccan footballer caused even more trouble for PSG’s management as he made headlines for facing rape allegations and for his upcoming rape trial.

The 2025/2026 year seems to be starting on a rocky path for France’s world renowned club, but the players remain confident that they will stay at the top of world football.

The Guardian, Maghrebi.org