Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi expressed their congratulations to their former teammate, Ousmane Dembélé, after being awarded the prestigious Ballon d’Or.
Dembélé surpassed Barcelona player Lamine Yamal to win the coveted individual trophy, after a standout season with Paris Saint-Germain.
The French striker scored 35 goals and provided 14 assists in 53 matches, contributing to PSG winning their first Champions League, as well as Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France.
Mbappé, who left PSG in the summer of 2024 to join Real Madrid, was one of the first to congratulate his compatriot.
Through his Instagram account, Mbappé wrote: “Ousmane Dembélé. What emotion, brother! You deserve it a thousand times.”Ousmane Dembélé won the 69th Ballon d’Or ahead of Lamine Yamal from Barcelona.Mbappé, 26, who has not yet won the Ballon d’Or, finished in seventh position in this year’s edition.
Messi, winner of eight Ballon d’Ors, was also enthusiastic to see Dembélé receive the recognition.
Messi, who shared a locker room with Dembélé for four seasons at Barcelona before signing for PSG in 2021, left a message in Spanish on Dembélé’s Instagram post, expressing: “Great Ous! Congratulations, I’m very happy for you. You deserve it!”
Dembélé, who joined PSG in 2023, mentioned his former Barça teammate during his acceptance speech.
The player expressed: “I learned a lot there [in Barcelona], playing alongside players like Messi and Iniesta. It was a great learning experience. I am very happy when I see the list of legends who have won this award.”
