When Ousmane Dembélé was announced as the winner of the 2025 Ballon d’Or, it marked not just a personal triumph for the Paris Saint-Germain forward but also a symbolic moment for Africa and its diaspora. The 28-year-old, who contributed 35 goals and 16 assists in PSG’s treble-winning campaign, became the first French player of his generation to lift football’s most prestigious individual award.
Born in France to a Malian father and a mother of Mauritanian-Senegalese descent, Dembélé embodies football’s global tapestry and the deep imprint of African heritage on the modern game. His rise from Vernon in northern France to the peak of world football is both an individual success story and a collective moment of pride for Africa.
A podium rich in African heritage
Dembélé wasn’t the only player with African roots among the night’s biggest names. Lamine Yamal, the teenage sensation from Barcelona who finished runner-up, is of Moroccan descent through his father. At just 18, Yamal’s inclusion underlined both his extraordinary talent and the continued thread of North African influence at the heart of European football.
In fourth place, Mohamed Salah of Liverpool once again represented Egypt, maintaining his status as one of Africa’s most consistent performers at the very top level. Achraf Hakimi, Dembélé’s PSG teammate and Moroccan international, ranked sixth, reinforcing Morocco’s position as a modern football powerhouse following their landmark World Cup semifinal in 2022. (CBS Sports)
Africa’s fingerprints on football’s crown
The prominence of players with African lineage in the Ballon d’Or top 10 is no coincidence. Decades of migration, talent development, and dual heritage have produced a generation that straddles continents: trained in Europe’s academies, yet rooted in African families and traditions.
For Africa, the message is clear. Its influence is not confined to the continent’s domestic leagues or occasional breakthroughs. Instead, it is deeply woven into the fabric of the world’s best clubs, and now, visibly, into the sport’s highest individual honour, and in other sporting disciplines the world over.
A legacy stretching back
Dembélé’s triumph also joins a select historical lineage of Ballon d’Or winners with African roots. In 1965, Eusébio, born in Mozambique when it was under Portuguese colonial rule, became the first African-born player to win the award. Three decades later, George Weah of Liberia made history in 1995 as the first — and until now only — African national to be crowned the world’s best.
While legends such as Abedi Pelé of Ghana and Roger Milla of Cameroon never won the Ballon d’Or despite their immense impact on the sport, their names remain part of the wider narrative of African excellence in football. Dembélé’s win reopens this conversation, positioning him in a continuum of African brilliance that has too often gone under-recognized.
Inspiration beyond borders
For young players across Africa — from Dakar to Bamako, Nouakchott to Cairo — the 2025 Ballon d’Or carries inspiration. It proves that the world’s golden ball can be lifted by someone whose roots stretch to Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal. It affirms that the journey from dusty pitches to European giants is not just a dream, but an increasingly traveled path.
As Dembélé himself has noted, his identity is inseparable from his heritage. That heritage, and the broader African imprint on this year’s Ballon d’Or rankings, ensures that 2025 will be remembered not only as the year Dembélé conquered football, but also as the year Africa’s influence on the global game was impossible to ignore.
