Lionel Messi of Inter Miami has congratulated Ousmane Dembele on his 2025 Ballon d’Or victory, after the French winger defeated Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner congratulated his former Barcelona teammate on social media, writing a note beneath Dembele’s Instagram image of the 28-year-old lifting the Golden Ball on Monday night.
Dembele scored 35 goals in 53 appearances in all competitions for Paris Saint-Germain last season, helping the French club win its first Champions League title, as well as Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France.
He replaced Manchester City midfielder Rodri in winning the Ballon d’Or last night, becoming the sixth Frenchman to do so following Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, Zinedine Zidane, and Karim Benzema.
Messi congratulates Dembele after his Ballon d’Or win.
Messi congratulated Dembele on his Ballon d’Or win yesterday night, writing on social media, “Grande Ous.” Congratulations, I am very delighted for you. “You deserve it,” said the caption beneath the Frenchman’s Instagram image.
Dembele praised Messi directly during his Ballon d’Or acceptance speech, stating that he “learnt so much from him” during their time at Barcelona.
Messi and Dembele were teammates at Barcelona for four seasons after the Frenchman joined from Borussia Dortmund in 2017 for a whopping £135.5 million.
Dembele played 95 games alongside Messi for the Catalan club, winning La Liga twice in 2018 and 2019, as well as the Copa del Rey in 2018.
Despite spending six years at the Nou Camp, Dembele was unable to raise his game and left Barcelona in the summer of 2023 to rejoin PSG in France.
Under manager Luis Enrique, the Frenchman established himself as one of the top players in the game over the next two seasons, scoring 43 goals and assisting 32 times in 99 games across all competitions.
After Kylian Mbappe left for Real Madrid last summer, Dembele took on a more centre role in Enrique’s team, despite having spent much of his career on the wings.
Dembele is now injured and was not included in PSG’s squad for Monday’s rescheduled game against Marseille, which resulted in a tight 1-0 loss.
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