Ousmane Dembele broke down during his 2025 Ballon d’or acceptance speech.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward won football’s most prestigious individual prize in Paris on Monday night, becoming the second player to do so for his club.
Furthermore, Dembele becomes the sixth Frenchman to win the award, following in the footsteps of greats such as Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, Zinedine Zidane and Karim Benzema.
Receiving the Ballon d’Or from none other than ex-PSG, Brazil and Barcelona superstar Ronaldinho, Dembele said: "I don't have many words. Look, it’s not easy. It is one of the best things I have accomplished in my career.
"Winning this trophy from Ronaldinho, a legend of football, is amazing.
"To all the team and the club, it’s really an incredible family. You have been amazing since the first day. The president, since the first contact, he has been exceptional with me.
"I want to also thank all the staff at PSG, my coach Luis Enrique has been amazing with me and has been the most important of my career.
"My team-mates have been amazing in 2024 and 2025, they have been with me in the bad moments. It is not an individual trophy, it is for us all to win this."
While on stage, Dembele then turned his attention to pay tribute to his family in the audience and he couldn't hold back his tears in a touching moment upon mentioning his mother.
"To my mother, I want to thank you. You have always been there for me, mama," he added.
"To my family, we have experienced so much together. We have been through it all. We will always be together."
Dembele’s mother then joined her son on stage as the pair reflected on an emotional, yet, special ceremony.
