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Ousmane Dembele has enjoyed highs and lows already in his career, but becoming only the sixth Frenchman to win the Ballon d’Or would undoubtedly be the crowning moment. After helping Paris Saint-Germain to become the undisputed kings of Europe during the 2024-25 campaign – Dembele was the jewel in their crown, and the Ballon d’Or is now rightly judged on a seasonal basis – the forward is understandably the odds-on favourite for the gong.
Journalist, author and pundit Guillem Balague sits down with Dembele in this issue for an exclusive chat about his career, the past 12 months and what winning the Ballon d’Or would mean to him.
If Dembele is the King of Europe, then the Queen is now unquestionably Chloe Kelly. Yet again it was Kelly who was there at the decisive moment, as the Lionesses defended their Euros title this summer. In this magazine, we look at the career of one of football’s ultimate big-game players.
Elsewhere in this issue, John Obi Mikel tells the extraordinary tale of how it looked like he had officially signed for Manchester United, only for the midfielder to snub them in favour of a move to Chelsea.
With the new campaign now underway, all footballers have undergone a rigorous pre-season, but just how tough is it? FourFourTwo made the trip to Cambridge United to find out (spoiler: it was hard!).
Enjoy the mag.
Exclusive Ousmane Dembele interview
Ousmane Dembele is the favourite to win the France Football award next month, after helping PSG become European champions. Guillem Balague talks to the Frenchman to find out how he bounced back after troubled times at Barcelona.
The greatest Champions League teams ever!
PSG’s record victory in last season’s final in Munich confirmed their place among the very best sides the competition has ever produced. Find out where they rank among our all-time top 20 teams.
The Champions League’s easternmost fixture
As Central Asia prepares to be represented at the World Cup for the first time, FFT visited the region to witness a European match near the Chinese border.
The Lionesses’ big-game player
Chloe Kelly shot to the top of the Sports Personality of the Year odds at the Euros. The Bobby Zamora superfan has used determination forged as a child to recover from misery and conquer the continent with both club and country.
Football’s maddest transfer saga
As a teenager, John Obi Mikel became embroiled in an infamous tug of war, with Manchester United and Chelsea both claiming they had signed the midfielder. In his own words, he explains how it all unfolded, via secret flights and a showdown meeting with Sir Alex Ferguson.
FFT tackles pre-season training
Invited to spend a day training at Cambridge United, we weren’t going to win any fitness awards, but would our efforts impress the gaffer Neil Harris?
The Thomas Frank story
Spurs’ new boss almost quit football as a youth coach, then left Brondby when his chairman criticised him online under a pseudonym. Now he’s a Champions League manager. We dive into his story from almost quitting the game, to coaching in the Champions League.
Greenland’s seven-day season
The territory has recently had to deal with Donald Trump’s advances, plus rejections by both CONCACAF and UEFA. FourFourTwo headed to capital Nuuk in August 2016 to witness the oddity of the world’s shortest league campaign. We relive the tale.
Javier Hernandez answers YOUR questions
The former Manchester United, West Ham and Mexico marksman fields questions on getting to grips with Fergie’s Scottish twang, two bouts of Moyes misery, Premier League heartbreak and meeting LeBron James.
Around the grounds in the EFL, non-league and Scotland
New Reading owner Rob Couhig talks about his ambitions for creating a new chapter in Royals history, why Premier League games should be played in the US and how he’d fix English football.
Score goals, get signed: Have Swindon Town unearthed the next Jamie Vardy? We meet non-league hotshot Jake Tabor as he looks to emulate the Leicester legend’s rise.
In Best & Worst, lifelong Livingston fan Calum Brown recalls silky Spaniards, shady Italians and a comedian that couldn’t hit a barn door.
The Tour at 60? Unbelievable, Geoff: Ex-England star Geoff Thomas finished all 21 stages of the Tour de France for the seventh time this summer to raise money for a leukaemia charity.
The Ebbsfleet experiment. In 2008, fans from around the world teamed up to buy a non-league club – what could possibly go wrong? After some initial success, pretty much everything did...
The Mixer
This month’s must-have merch round-up features retro goodness from Hong Kong, the height of corner-shop culture and a fashion collab that’ll get you a spot of Bovver.
Want to get something in The Mixer? DM Deputy Editor Matt Ketchell
Upfront
Ex-Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar recalls the games that changed his life, while Jules Breach looks back at the Lionesses’ Euros success and how it was viewed in the US.
Battle the brainteasers in our latest quiz with questions about golden boots, Golden Boys and managers called Keith, then flip over to My Football and find out why golf star and Forest fan Lee Westwood wouldn’t leave Jimmy Bullard in charge of his clubs.
In People I Admire, former England No.1 David James picks Gareth Southgate and a Tube artist, plus we debate whether English football’s new independent regulator will really make a difference.
In the Players Lounge this month…
Saido Berahino talks about being DNA tested when he arrived in the UK and a former West Brom chairman who made his mum cry, Katie Zelem tells us why she swapped Champions League for Championship to join childhood club Manchester United, and cult Costa Rica hero Bryan Ruiz reminisces about storming the 2014 World Cup’s Group of Death.
Perfect XI
Shot-stopper Tim Krul drafts former Newcastle team-mates, Premier League stalwarts and dynamite Dutch internationals into his dream team.
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