'I am not far' - Dembele confident of Ballon d'Or chances
Ousmane Dembele was a standout performer for Paris Saint-Germain in 2024-25 and is among the favourites to clinch the Ballon d'Or.
Ousmane Dembele believes he is "not far" away from winning the Ballon d'Or after an impressive campaign with Paris Saint-Germain.
Dembele is among the favourites to claim the coveted accolade, having helped PSG win the Ligue 1, Coupe de France and Champions League treble in 2024-25.
The Frenchman scored 33 goals and provided 13 assists for PSG last term. Among all players from Europe's top five leagues, only Mohamed Salah (57), Raphinha (56), Harry Kane (49) and Kylian Mbappe (48) bettered Dembele's 46 total goal involvements.
He registered 14 of those goal involvements in the Champions League, scoring eight and assisting six. No PSG player has ever had more in a single campaign.
In fact, it is also the second-most goal contributions by a French player in a single edition of the competition, after Karim Benzema in 2021-22 (17).
And while Dembele insists his focus is on the team, who are competing at the Club World Cup, he admitted he has thought about the Ballon d'Or.
"I'm thinking about [the Ballon d'Or]," he told DAZN.
"I know that, with the season that I have had, I am not far [from the Ballon d'Or], but I am focused on the [team] objectives, before thinking about myself."
Bradley Barcola also impressed for PSG last term and came off the bench to assist the final goal in their 5-0 win over Inter in the Champions League final.
He recorded 18 assists in all competitions, a team-high, while only Dembele (33) bettered his goal tally of 21.
And only Dembele (111) and Achraf Hakimi (100) created more chances than his 82 across the season.
There have been reports suggesting Barcola could leave PSG in the transfer window, with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Bayern Munich interested, but Luis Enrique is determined to keep him in the French capital.
"I have no doubt that he'll stay our player," Luis Enrique said in a press conference.
"We like the fact that our players are interesting other clubs. But he's one of those young players that we've been banking on. I expect him to play here for many more years."
