Ousmane Dembele won the 2025 Ballon d’Or almost fortnight ago after an incredible season with PSG.
Dembele scored 35 goals in 53 games across all competitions and led PSG to a historic quadruple which included their first-ever Champions League title.
He also became the sixth French player to win the award and joined the likes of Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, Zinedine Zidane and Karim Benzema.
Dembele’s journey to this point was not straightforward as he was seen for years as one of the most talented yet inconsistent players in Europe.
Barcelona paid over €100m [$116m] to sign him from Borussia Dortmund in 2017, expecting him to be the next big wide attacker in the club’s rich attacking tradition but injuries and adaptation issues limited his progress and by the time Lionel Messi left for PSG in 2021, Dembele’s career was still searching for the spark that would define it.
That spark came when PSG took a chance on him in 2023, signing him for €50m [$58m] and giving him a central role under Luis Enrique and the season that followed made him PSG’s creative heartbeat in attack, scoring crucial goals in Ligue 1, Coupe de France and Champions League.
Messi’s influence shaped Dembele’s early years at Barcelona
Dembele shared a special bond with Lionel Messi at Barcelona that left a lasting impression on his career.
The two played together for four seasons which totaled 95 times in competitive matches for the Catalan club and despite Dembele being out for long spells due to injuries, Messi’s influence was constant during his early development years at Camp Nou.
🚨🗣️ Reporter: "What's your favorite picture?"
— The Touchline | 𝐓 (@TouchlineX) October 6, 2025
Ousmane Dembele: "Surprisingly it's the image of Messi comforting me when I got injured against Dortmund in the 2019 UCL."
Reporter: "Why that picture?"
Ousmane Dembele: "Because of what he said to me: "Don't worry you will be… pic.twitter.com/ukgvUIEhbD
Speaking recently, Dembele recalled an emotional moment from their time together when Messi comforted him during a difficult injury spell.
“Surprisingly it’s the image of Messi comforting me when I got injured against Dortmund in the 2019 Champions League,” Dembele said when asked about his favorite picture.
When further asked about why that picture remains his favorite, Dembele promptly replied:
"Because of what he said to me: "Don't worry you will be alright". At that early stage in my career I needed that and he always encouraged me.