Ballon d’Or winner in 2025, Ousmane Dembélé has explained what he believes he changed to claim the individual award, for which he is again a candidate this year. At 29, the France international is among the favourites to retain the trophy, in a field he considers deep.
In an interview with the BBC on Thursday alongside Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, his club teammate, Dembélé nevertheless suggested that he would choose the Georgian rather than himself. The campaign around the award has intensified in recent weeks.
The Frenchman placed his personal development at the centre of his assessment. “You become much more mature,” he said, before identifying “mentality” as the main change. His career path, particularly his spell at Barcelona, has, according to him, also helped him mature.
“When you are 20, you want to pull off two or three nutmegs, dribbles, you hear the crowd shouting, it’s normal,” he smiled. “Over the years, I have mainly looked for efficiency. At Barcelona, I played with the best players in the world, I was with Lionel Messi, I saw how he played and everything he did was about efficiency. I learned a lot from that.”
Dembélé nevertheless says he has not changed his style of play because of his new status. “When you win this kind of trophy, a lot of things change, but I try to remain the same,” he explained. “There are greater expectations, a bit of pressure, people look at you differently. But as soon as I step onto the pitch, I don’t change the way I play.”
Kylian Mbappé also clarified his relationship with Dembélé: “There is no tension, he is a friend.” Dembélé is not fixated on winning the Ballon d’Or this year.
He also set out what he presents as the formula behind his success last season: changing certain aspects of his approach. While he is not really putting himself forward, another triumph would still be received with immense pride. “When you have won it the first time, you don’t want people to say it was luck,” he smiled. “You want to keep being at the top. It is all about pride, they are exceptional moments, but we will see what happens.”
Source : RMC Sport
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