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UCL Ballon d’Or 2025 After being touted as one of the most wide-open Ballon d’Or races of the past two decades, the event ended up being somewhat of a procession. In front of an expectant crowd, Paris Saint-Germain forward and heavy favourite Ousmane Dembele became the first French player to win the award while playing in Ligue 1 since Jean Pierre-Papin in 1991. On the women’s side, Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati collected her third successive Golden Ball, becoming the first women’s player to achieve that feat, and just the third player ever after Lionel Messi and Michel Platini. Advertisement The Athletic was at the Theatre du Chatelet, covering the event from the pre-ceremony red carpet to when Dembele was escorted out of the building as hundreds of PSG fans lined the streets chanting his name. Here are five things you may have missed. If it wasn’t already enough of an open secret that Dembele was on track to become just the second PSG player to win the Ballon d’Or (after Messi won in 2021), the number of Parisians who came out to support the Frenchman reinforced what we all knew was coming. Every time a black van pulled up on the red carpet ready to offload a mystery collection of stars, chants of “Ousmane, Ballon d’Or” would break out among the hundreds of PSG and France fans awaiting the 28-year-old on his crowning day. As it happened, there were lots of frustrated groans until Dembele, one of the last people to show up to the ceremony, eventually arrived with his PSG team-mates. When he did, the crowd erupted — as it would several times that evening. If you had followed Dembele’s rapid rise from Rennes to Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona within two years, a night like this may have seemed plausible, if not likely, at some point in his career. But if you watched how the subsequent years at Barcelona unfolded, with Dembele falling out of favour in Catalonia before joining PSG in 2023, the idea of seeing his name on the trophy at some point would have felt far-fetched. All of this contributed to making the night that little bit more special. Dembele broke down in tears during his speech, dedicating the award to his mother, who later joined him on stage. With hundreds of PSG supporters waiting outside in the pouring rain, Paris’ adopted hero left to a rapturous reception. While PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi was at the event to accept the club of the year award for the first time, head coach Luis Enrique was forced into delivering his coach of the year acceptance speech via video. Advertisement Enrique, as well as every other PSG player not in the running for an individual award, had to skip the event due to a rescheduling of their match against Marseille, which was postponed from Sunday to Monday evening due to storm threats. As it transpired, the Spaniard missed his star attacker as well as Desire Doue and Joao Neves as PSG lost 1-0 at the Orange Velodrome. It is the first time Marseille have beaten PSG at home in 14 years. But while his Ballon d’Or success may have taken priority on Monday night, Dembele was still thinking about his team-mates playing down south. During the first ad break, he pulled out his phone and started watching a stream of the game. It didn’t take long to become clear that PSG fans would dictate the noise outside the event, but with a mix of players, club staff, family and journalists, who drives the atmosphere inside the building? On Monday night, there was a large group of local schoolchildren sitting in the upper reaches of the theatre, bringing the noise. They were partisan and unapologetic about it, too. Even Lamine Yamal, who may be just a year or two older than some of the group, was booed and jeered after he won the Kopa Trophy — the award for the best player under the age of 21 — ahead of PSG’s Neves and Doue. Having thought the Club of the Year award was across both genders, they even heckled Arsenal Women when they took home the trophy. When it was revealed moments later that there was a men’s award to come, which PSG duly won, loud cheers went up again. Given this was largely PSG’s and Dembele’s night, having a large contingent of local and avid supporters of both of theirs proved to be a perfect storm. Sarina Wiegman is one of the best coaches in football, and fans of England’s women’s team are very fortunate to have her. She signed a new contract in January 2024, around 18 months before winning the European Championship this summer. She is now committed until 2027. Advertisement But, even with her immediate future seemingly set in stone, fans (even ones who have played 66 times for said country) wishing to add a bit of Wiegman magic to their favourite national team can’t help but chance their arm. Following an incredible speech by the 55-year-old, where she promoted inclusivity and a desire to remove misogyny and racism from the game, compatriot Ruud Gullit said: “Please, please, please come back to Holland! ” Wiegman, who spent the entirety of her coaching career in her home country before becoming England boss in 2021, coached the Netherlands on a permanent basis between 2016 and 2021, winning the Euros and reaching the final of the World Cup. However, fortunately for fans of the Lionesses, her response was short but assuring: “I’m staying in England for a while. ” Only two months on, the tragic passing of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva continues to affect the football world profoundly. During the ceremony, a segment was played of Jota’s goals for Liverpool, ending with a picture of him and his brother together while they were playing for Porto. Rute Cardoso, Jota’s widow, attended the ceremony and watched as the theatre gave ovations to the former Liverpool and Portugal star and Silva, who most recently played for Penafiel in Portugal’s second tier. (Top photo: Kristy Sparow – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Elias Burke is a football writer who regularly covers Tottenham Hotspur. He has previously covered U. S. soccer, West Bromwich Albion and Derby County for The Athletic. Follow Elias on Twitter @Elias Burke